Pharmacy partnerships 2024: what worked and what lies ahead

Becker’s asked chief pharmacists at US hospitals and healthcare systems to share their most beneficial partnerships in 2024.

The eight executives mentioned in this article are all speaking at Becker’s Healthcare Chief Pharmacy Officer Summit, Nov. 13-14, at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago.

Would you like to know more about this event, click here.

If you would like to participate as a reviewer, please contact Mariah Muhammad at [email protected] or [email protected].

For more information about sponsorship opportunities, you can download the prospectus here.

As part of an ongoing series, Becker’s is speaking to healthcare leaders who will be speaking at our conference. Below are responses from our speakers at the event.

Q: Which partnerships delivered the most this year, and what else are you looking for in the coming year?

Madeline Camejo, PharmD. Vice President of Pharmacy Services and Chief Pharmacy Officer at Baptist Health South Florida (Coral Gables): Over the past year, our dual-accredited healthcare system specialty pharmacy has achieved incredible new milestones! We have moved to a state-of-the-art facility in a central location in South Florida, making us perfectly positioned to serve our growing healthcare system. Additionally, we rolled out a new pharmacy management system that accelerated our specialty pharmacy operations, driving significant growth and allowing us to expand our services to positively impact even more patients across our system. Additionally, we have taken innovation to the next level by partnering with several local professional sports franchises and delivering best-in-class pharmacy and wellness support to our key partner organizations.

Elizabeth Oyekan, PharmD. Vice President of Pharmacy and Imaging Services at Stanford (California) Health Care; Chief Pharmacy Officer of Stanford Health Care and Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley: This year at Stanford Health Care, several important, beneficial partnerships with providers and healthcare system stakeholders focused on specialty clinical care, particularly in the areas of oncology, cell and gene therapies, precision medicine and diabetes. These collaborations have resulted in access to innovative therapies, supported clinical trials and integrated pharmacists into multidisciplinary teams, improving patient outcomes. Additionally, partnerships with manufacturers in education on social determinants of health and health equity, as well as research collaborations, have added significant value.

Looking ahead, the SHC Pharmacy Enterprise seeks partnerships that:

1. Expand access to medicines with limited distribution.
2. Enhance the clinical role of pharmacists and technicians, with an emphasis on reimbursement tied to patient outcomes.
3. Leverage AI and data for precision medicine and improved medication management.
4. Support drug innovation through ongoing research collaborations and clinical trials.

These partnerships will support SHC and other healthcare systems in our quest to achieve the Fivefold Aim: better care, better outcomes, lower costs, greater provider and team satisfaction, and greater healthcare equity. For SHC and other AMCs, these collaborations will support our leadership efforts in research and care while addressing access and cost challenges.

Robert Fink, PharmD. System Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Executive of UofL Health (Louisville, Ky.): We have transitioned from a national pharmacy benefits manager to an internally managed program. We captured 80% of the plan’s prescription costs, improved 340B benefits, and enrolled more than 1,200 employees in our Medication Therapy Management clinics. Pharmacists who work in these clinics practice under a practice agreement with our physicians. Pharmacists can optimize the drug treatment of patients, while the prescriptions are eligible for a prize of 340 billion. Employees seen at this clinic will eliminate co-pays and receive insulin, insulin pumps and monitoring equipment at no cost while improving their treatment compliance and outcomes. Additionally, we now have access to manufacturer-supported programs to reduce copays and drug costs for our employees who qualify for these programs. These three initiatives have allowed us to better manage drug costs for our organization.

Nilesh Desai. Chief Pharmacy Officer of Baptist Health System (LaGrange, Ky.): There is no successful business without good partnerships. This year, especially with the launch of our new central pharmacy service center, we had great collaborations with our construction teams, information technology, human resources, finance, vendor partners and internally all of our pharmacy teams. Change is inevitable and the key is to continue working with everyone at the same momentum in the coming year, as in pharmacy we are never done with initiatives. The focus is always on doing things that can remove barriers for healthcare providers and improve outcomes for our patients.

Adetoro Oriaifo, PharmD. Chief Pharmacy Officer of Total Health Care, Inc. (Baltimore): Successful Partnership with Total Health Care Pharmacy: This year, Total Health Care Pharmacy is celebrating the success of its partnership with Total Health Care providers and payers. This partnership has proven to be one of the most impactful, helping to bridge gaps in care, improve patient outcomes and increase operational efficiency. Through a shared vision of patient-centered care, these partnerships have made significant progress on clinical and administrative fronts.

Total Health Care Pharmacy has taken a proactive approach by working closely with providers, payers and the public health team to close gaps in care and improve quality metrics. Pharmacists have become key players in patient care management, identifying medication adherence issues, conducting medication therapy reviews, and supporting chronic disease management. These activities align with value-based care goals and have resulted in measurable improvements in patient outcomes and satisfaction.

One of the standout achievements this year was a successful pilot program in which a pharmacist handled prior authorizations for a supplier. This initiative was launched to reduce the administrative burden on healthcare providers and ensure that patients get timely access to essential medicines. By having a pharmacist manage the PAs according to clinical guidelines and third-party payer requirements, we were able to expedite the approval process, improving both patient care and operational efficiency. Encouraged by the success of this pilot, we plan to expand the PA process to all providers in the coming year. Our goal is to create a centralized and streamlined PA workflow, managed by pharmacists, to further reduce delays and administrative work for healthcare providers.

Building on this momentum, Total Health Care Pharmacy plans to expand clinical services next year. A key focus will be a pharmacist-led medication reconciliation protocol for patients transitioning from the hospital to the health center. Under this new initiative:

• Pharmacists will manage medication reconciliation through structured visits, ensuring patients are on the correct medication regimen after discharge.
• This is followed by a warm handover to the healthcare provider, ensuring seamless continuity of care.
• The process will free providers to focus on more patient appointments, improving patient access to care and reducing the risk of readmission.

The collaboration between Total Health Care Pharmacy, providers and payers has created a solid foundation for achieving better health outcomes, improved patient experiences and operational excellence. Expanding the role of the pharmacist in both administrative and clinical processes reflects a shared commitment to value-based care. As we look to the future, we remain committed to deepening these partnerships through innovative workflows, comprehensive pharmacy services and seamless care coordination so that every patient receives timely, effective and accessible care. This year’s achievements underscore the importance of partnership-based care models. Total Health Care Pharmacy is excited to build on these successes and looks forward to a future where collaboration leads to even greater improvements in public health and healthcare delivery.

Jenna Swindler, PharmD. Vice President of Pharmacy Services at McLeod Health (Florence, SC): Integrating pharmacy operations into your healthcare system requires an enormous amount of navigation and teamwork. Over the past year, we have worked with our outpatient clinics to identify the needs of patients with complex therapies and meet them through new access to medicines. These services are expanding into a variety of other areas thanks to the successful initial partnerships in our dedicated clinics. Beyond the clinics, successful drug access programs depend on a strong partnership with the revenue cycle and patient access. By working together and gathering different expertise, the journey to obtaining medication for our patients becomes increasingly seamless!

Nicole Sjoek. Chief Pharmacy Officer of JPS Health Network (Fort Worth, Texas): At JPS, we have a long-standing relationship with a pharmacy solutions partner who works across all of our pharmacy services from inpatient pharmacy, meds-to-beds program, retail pharmacy, 340B program management and optimization, and who is the integrated pharmacy benefits manager. for our employees. During our nearly 14-year relationship, we have continuously optimized our pharmacy operations, expanded services to offer home delivery to patients, significantly increased our admission rate, reduced time to fill and increased our patient satisfaction scores.

We recently expanded our partnership with Maxor and in the coming year we will build a new specialty pharmacy on campus to serve patients with complex, chronic or rare conditions.

The expansion of pharmacy services has expanded JPS’s ability to fulfill our mission and deliver care to the communities we serve.

Darren Evans, PharmD. System Vice President of Pharmacy Services at Phoebe Putney Health System (Albany, Georgia): This year, the pharmacy’s collaboration with the supply chain team was incredibly helpful. Together, we have been able to streamline purchasing processes, improve supply forecasting and quickly address any delivery disruptions, ultimately improving patient care. Looking ahead to next year, we would like to expand this collaborative approach by working more closely with the revenue cycle team. This partnership will be critical in aligning our operations with financial strategies to improve billing accuracy, streamline reimbursement processes and ensure the financial sustainability of our services, furthering our commitment to delivering high-quality, accessible care is further strengthened.