Pharmacy Angle had the opportunity to sit down with Jon Albrecht, Vice President & Chief Pharmacy Officer for Methodist Health System while at the Health Connect Partner's Pharmacy Conference in Indianapolis to get his thoughts on challenges and trends across the industry. 

Jon, based in Dallas, Texas, is responsible for thirteen hospitals, two retail pharmacies, about thirty to thirty five, clinics...all told about seventeen hundred beds. On the way to the top of his profession, Jon has seen what beinga pharmacy leader means and requires while also witnessing the roller coast that is manpower and staffing. Jon talks about the changes that are necessary to recruit pharmacy technicians in today's work force, drug shortages, and much more. 

Fred Pane, R. Ph, FASHP, FABC, is currently Director, Pharmacy Services, Capstone Health Alliance, where he is developing new contracting models to address todays evolving healthcare ecosystem and supporting technology to improve pharmacy operations, address current staffing shortages, and improve patient and medication safety, while delivering clinical and financial value to Capstone members and their patients. Fred has a diverse background which allows him to see healthcare, customers, and patient care delivery, through many lenses and apply his experience. His experience includes, Sr. VP Business Development, Comprehensive Pharmacy Services; VP,
Pharmacy Services and Interim VP, Supply Chain for Coordinated Health, Allentown, Pa; PhRMA industry as Sr. Director, National Accounts/Health Care Systems and Sr. Director, Pharmacy Solutions, The Medicines Company. Prior to The Medicines Company, Sr. Director, Pharmacy Affairs at the GPO, Premier Inc. He was Administrator of Pharmacy Services, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network (LVHN) leading an Enterprise Pharmacy Operation and provided Pharmacy Leadership for an 11 hospital IDN called PennCare. While at LVHN he chaired the P and T
Committee, with a focus on developing an outcome and value-based formular.

Fred received his BS Pharmacy from St. John’s University, School of Pharmacy, attended Leadership Programs in Pharmacy and Health Care, Univ. of Pa. Wharton School, and Thunderbird/Mid-Western University. He is a Fellow of The American Society of Health-system Pharmacy (FASHP) and completed an 18-month Fellowship, Healthcare Leadership, with The Advisory Board Company (FABC) with a focus on understanding the current and future healthcare ecosystem, along with leadership.

He provides input to American Society of Health-systems Pharmacy (ASHP) addressing issues that are impacting the profession of Health System Pharmacy, the Healthcare Ecosystem, and with The Advisory Board Company on Healthcare, Industry, Supply Chain, and Pharmacy issues. He has numerous publications including, the first article on “White Bagging” and “Value Based Contracting” and has presented at numerous industry and pharmacy conferences.

Huntsville Hospital Health System Executive Director of System Pharmacy Services, Michael McDaniel, sat down with Pharmacy Angle at the Health Connect Partners Conference in Indianapolis to discuss his current role and the path that lead him there, and changes he's witnessed throughout his career in the operations and role of the hospital pharmacy. Michael also talks about the importance of data & benchmarking, technology that creates efficiencies and best practices, staffing challenges, and trends within the industry he's most optimistic about. 

Amir Emamifar, PharmD, MBA serves as the moderator for this panel discussion on "Transforming Pharmacy with Central Services Center." The panelist include Nilesh Desai, Chief Pharmacy Officer for Baptist Health System and Richard Montgomery, Director of Pharmacy Contracts & Sourcing with Adventist Health System.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Discuss rationale for Pharmacy central services
• Develop scope of services
• Build a business plan with Justifications
• Process of KPI to measure successful implementation and operation

Indiana University Health Director of Pharmacy - System Operations & Logistics, Jon Brown, MHA, DPLA, sat down with Pharmacy Angle to discuss his current role and the path that lead him there, current projects he and his team at IU are working on along with the lessons learned, and industry trends and challenges including how AI might impact the workforce and industry as a whole.  

Health Connect Partners' CEO, David Mason along with Partner & Chief Sales Officer, Jason Green discuss the vision and opportunities for HCP's newest endeavor, a digital hub and resource for hospital pharmacy professionals - Pharmacy Angle. 

Chris Beebe, RPh, MBA has more than 25 years of experience in hospital pharmacy and is Senior Vice President of Compliance and Regulatory Services at CPS. He has developed expertise in topics including accreditation standard and state regulation compliance, controlled substance diversion prevention, general medication safety, and sterile compounding and hazardous drug handling. Chris leads a team of pharmacist specialists that ensures overall medication management compliance and risk reduction at CPS managed facility pharmacies, and the team also provides consultation on these topics nationwide. He is a member of The Joint Commission Pharmacy Advisory Council.

Chris has served in pharmacy leadership and compliance roles at Health Management Associates and Community Health Systems, and as a Director of Pharmacy and staff pharmacist at two acute care hospitals. After earning his BS Pharmacy at the University of Pittsburgh, Chris received his Masters in Business Administration the Lebanon Valley College. He resides in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Carolyn Liptak, MBA, RPh, brings more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry and currently serves as the Pharmacy Executive Director for Regulatory, Compliance & Financial Performance on the Vizient Center for Pharmacy Practice Excellence team. She has provided directorial leadership for inpatient, outpatient, retail and specialty pharmacy operations and clinical strategy. Her areas of expertise include regulatory compliance, revenue integrity, sterile compounding, and controlled substance diversion surveillance. She currently is a member of the Pharmacy Advisory Council at The Joint Commission.

Prior to joining Vizient, Carolyn served in leadership roles at Texas Children’s Hospital and Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston as well as The Medical Center of Aurora and the University of Colorado Hemophilia & Thrombosis Center in Denver. Carolyn received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Louisiana at Monroe School of Pharmacy and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Houston Clear Lake. She is based remotely in Denver, Colorado.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Discuss strategies for how healthcare organizations are coping with and overcoming drug shortages
• Understand and recognize challenges within the healthcare industry related to drug shortages and potential sourcing solutions to support a resilient supply chain
• Gain knowledge on how to collaborate within the healthcare community to address drug shortages
• Describe supply chain challenges and successes during the COVID-19 pandemic learning from various industry stakeholders

CO-SPEAKERS:

STACY LAUDERDALE
Stacy Lauderdale is the Senior Director of Drug Information at Vizient. During her 14 years with the Vizient family of companies, Stacy has been responsible for the oversight and development of clinical pharmacy resources including formulary resources, pharmacy communications, expert panels, and education. In 2018, in collaboration with the Vizient Pharmacy Clinical Council, she created a member drug shortage group that prepares drug shortage mitigation strategies with a focus on developing strategies for essential medications. Prior to joining Vizient, she worked for several years in academia and provided drug information services to multiple health systems.

DOUG KUCERA
Doug Kucera is Associate Vice-President, Contract Services at Vizient. During his 14 years with the organization, Doug has managed and led strategic sourcing for several pharmacy product and service categories. Most recently, Doug led the formation of Novaplus Enhanced Supply, in support of Vizient’s mission to end drug shortages. Doug has served on the Vizient Drug Shortages Task Force Executive Committee—and is a participant in the End Drug Shortages Alliance. Prior to joining Vizient, Doug worked in strategic research, pricing, & compliance positions in other industries. Doug has BS and BA degrees in international business and Spanish from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 

Ken Perez is the former VP of Healthcare Policy and Government Affairs for Omnicell, where he has worked for a total of 15 years. He is the host of the Future of Pharmacy Podcast and has been a health policy columnist for hfm, the monthly journal of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, for over 10 years. Ken also serves on the board of the ASHP Foundation and the Dean’s Executive Council for UCSF’s School of Nursing. Ken holds a  bachelor’s degree in international relations with an emphasis in economics from Stanford University and a MBA with a concentration in finance from UCLA Anderson.