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.