While at the Health Connect Partner's Pharmacy Conference in Indianapolis, Pharmacy Angle had the opportunity to sit down with Urshila Shah, Executive Director of Pharmacy Services at Saint Joseph's Health in Patterson, New Jersey to get her thoughts on topics, trends, and challenges facing the industry.

Ms. Shah discusses her professional journey that led to her current position, and the evolution of focus for a pharmacy director - from primarily focused on inpatient acute care operations and expense management to now being business strategy leaders that are asked to optimize growth and bring in new revenue. Urshila also provides her thoughts staffing & drug shortages, AI and the use of technology, and much more. 

Dr. Neil Hunter, PharmaD., MBA, BCSCP, is the System Director – Sterile Drug Compounding for Ochsner Health, encompassing oversight for forty-seven hospitals. His practice expertise includes sterile compounding and healthsystem automation. His focus is to automate processes, in a system setting, which allow for a data driven approach to ensure medications are delivered safely, and in a timely manner. 

Nationally, Dr. Hunter serves on the BD Connected Medication Management and SCA Advisory Board’s. In the state of Louisiana, he serves as President-Elect for the LSHP, and as the President of the South-East LSHP local chapter. In this setting, he is an advocate for hospital pharmacist and is striving to increase Louisiana Pharmacist participation in LSHP. 

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.