AMCP Foundation Volunteer Spotlight: Joe Couto

Originally published in the June 2022 AMCP Foundation Insights e-newsletter.

Volunteers are important members of the AMCP Foundation team! We caught up with Joseph Couto, PharmD, MBA, Executive Director of Specialty Program Evaluation and Outcomes at CVS Specialty, to discuss his viewpoint on volunteering.

Joe, what interested you in becoming a volunteer? 

I had been a member of AMCP for nearly 10 years when I initially volunteered. I was looking for ways to more broadly contribute to managed care pharmacy outside of publishing abstracts and manuscripts. 

In what area with AMCP Foundation did you volunteer, and why? 

I volunteered on the AMCP/AMCP Foundation Joint Research Committee, as research is an important aspect of the work we do as managed care pharmacists. Through research, we continue to improve the clinical outcomes of the interventions we develop and the policy we enact at our sites of practice. 

What was your experience with that volunteer opportunity? What value did you gain from that experience? 

The experience was fantastic as I served on the committee for six years in total, including three as vice chair and chair. It was a great way to convene research experience from health plans, PBMs, academia, and pharmaceutical manufacturers and to identify areas of alignment and mutual interest.

Through our work, we articulated a research agenda for managed care pharmacy. This research agenda encompasses “pillars” of high interest to our field, including several that are unique to managed care pharmacy. The committee remains focused on efforts to widen the evidence base in these priority areas, and to offer research mentorship with support from the managed care community.

Why should other pharmacists and resarchers volunteer with AMCP Foundation? 

Volunteering for AMCP Foundation is a great way to help shape the future of the profession through networking and collaborating with other managed care professionals, students, residents, etc. The sharing of ideas drives innovation and helps encourage our peers to share their experiences in committees, presentations at meetings, and manuscripts in JMCP.

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