Vizient Releases Spend Management Outlook for 2025-2026

Vizient has released a new Spend Management Outlook “representing the best estimate of the change in the price of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and supplies, capital equipment and services between July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026.”

The report “projects a 3.84% increase in pharmacy and an increase of 2.3% in non-pharmacy spend over that timeframe.”

One highlight of the report shows that the “movement of healthcare into ambulatory spaces continues to grow at an accelerated pace, and that shift is reflected in the list of the top 15 drugs by total spend for Vizient pharmacy program participants.” Some of the top drugs “contribute significantly to the increase in pharmacy spend in ambulatory settings (3.96%) exceeding the growth rate projected for acute care (3%).”

Additionally, specialty and personalized pharmaceuticals now “account for 54% of total drug spending in the U.S.” At the end of 2024, “here were 745 medications on the Vizient specialty pharmaceutical list, with more than half used in oncology, neurology and autoimmune and inflammatory disease states, ensuring that the influence of these products will continue for the foreseeable future.”

Vizient also estimates that “market prices encompassing the non-pharmacy healthcare supply chain will increase an average of 2.3% between July 2025 to June 2026. Factors driving cost increases include long term elevated prices for raw materials, cost pressures for freight and shipping, and tariffs impacting several medical-surgical (med-surg) products manufactured in China.”