Patient Access Manager - San Diego

Role Summary

Patient Access Manager (PAM) at Acadia, a field-based role supporting healthcare providers in navigating access and reimbursement for Acadia therapies. Serves as a trusted resource for on-label access questions, liaising among healthcare providers, specialty pharmacies, payers, patients, hub services, and internal teams. Travel required to support stakeholders and patient journey in the assigned territory.

Responsibilities

• Proactively educate healthcare providers on navigating programs, processes, and access-related requirements to facilitate patient access to ACADIA products via in-person and virtual interactions.
• Serve as the subject matter expert in preventing and addressing access and reimbursement issues through education, problem-solving, and issue resolution ensuring solutions support the patient’s access journey and deliver excellent customer experience.
• Proactively build and maintain access-related relationships with HCP accounts and their office support staff.
• Demonstrate deep market knowledge and apply this to navigating the patient access process, supporting coverage and reimbursement requirements.
• Conduct proactive in-services with HCPs on all aspects of the access journey, including coverage pathways, prior authorization, specialty pharmacy coordination, appeals, hub resources, and patient support services.
• Escalate local payer issues to National Account Managers and PAM Leads.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to improve customer experience, educate HCPs/Office Staff on coverage status, prior authorization, and appeals.
• Demonstrate deep knowledge of ACADIA customer support programs and serve as the expert in the assigned territory.
• Provide proactive pre-referral educational in-services to prevent coverage barriers before referral.
• Provide post-referral support to HCP offices by addressing education needs, ensuring access and coverage for patients, and coordinating with customer support programs and specialty pharmacies to monitor referral status.
• Support continuity of patient access by educating HCP offices on reauthorization requirements and assisting with payer transitions to minimize therapy interruptions.
• Facilitate patient reimbursement and affordability by guiding offices through prior authorizations, appeals, and financial support options.
• Build relationships with pharmacy staff and share key insights.
• Provide expertise on regional and national payer plans to team members and PAM Leads.
• Support development and implementation of national-level initiatives to improve access and reimbursement strategies across brands.
• Champion and manage appropriate utilization of patient support services and ensure compliance with legal/regulatory requirements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; life sciences concentration preferred. Advanced degrees (RN, MSN, MBA) considered a plus.
• Minimum of 4+ years in pharmaceutical sales, market access, national accounts, or specialty pharmacy with deep expertise in access and reimbursement strategies.
• Medicare expertise strongly preferred with understanding of field environment in healthcare.
• Equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
• Travel up to 60%.

Skills

• Track record of increased responsibilities.
• Strong cross-functional collaboration.
• Ability to lead without authority.
• Experience with physician practices, patient assistance programs, or similar pharmaceutical support programs.
• Patient-centric mindset with emotional intelligence and empathy.
• Exceptional organizational and time management skills.
• Understanding of HIPAA and patient privacy.
• Strong written and verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint).
• Ability to manage expenses within budgets and adapt to change.
• High motivation to succeed in a team environment.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree required; concentration in life sciences preferred. Advanced degrees (RN, MSN, MBA) are a plus.

Additional Requirements

• Regular office environment duties with potential lifting up to 20 pounds.
• Physical demands not otherwise listed; standard for field-based healthcare roles.