A specialty medication is a commercially available medication that requires prior authorization from your insurance company to be filled. Medications in this category are usually those that are self-administered injectables (but not diabetic), highly expensive, or those requiring special monitoring or handling.

Patients with rare, chronic, or life-threatening conditions, such as cancer or HIV / AIDS, often require these medications as part of their treatment plan. Typical retail pharmacies can dispense some specialty medications, but given the high level of patient care that these medications demand, those retail pharmacies do not dispense them regularly.