AMCP Foundation Newsletter - Q2 2014
Contents:
Six New Trustees Named to AMCP Foundation Board
Initiative Underway to Identify Emerging Medication Management Practices That Can Advance Patient Care and Outcomes
Building a Bridge Campaign Climbs to $100,000 Goal
AMCP Resident Moves into Pharmacy Affairs and Education Post
Managed Care Pharmacy Summer Internship Programs Get Underway
P&T Competition Draws 36 teams --- Record Participation
Record 68 Poster Presentations Compete
Steven G. Avey Award Goes to Dr. Sean Sullivan, MS, PhD, RPh
AMCP Foundation Holds Inaugural 5k Run During AMCP's Annual meeting
Six New Trustees Named to AMCP Foundation Board
Continuing its fundamental transformation in setting and pursuing new strategic priorities to advance managed care pharmacy, six new members of the AMCP Foundation Board of Trustees were announced at AMCP's Annual Meeting & Expo in Tampa, Fl. Joining other current trustees are:
- Christopher V. Goff, CEO/General Counsel, Employers Health, a national coalition of employers addressing health care costs while improving quality and access;
- Newell McElwee, Executive Director, US Outcomes Research Group at Merck & Co.;
- Kathleen Moreo, RN, BSN, CCN, President & CEO, PRIME Education Inc., a national medical education company;
- Lynn Shapiro Snyder of Washington, DC-based law firm of Epstein Becker Green, specializing in health care;
- Karen Teitelbaum, Executive Vice President/COO, Sinai Health System, consisting of seven hospitals and institutes in the greater Chicago area; and
- David Wheeler, CFO & Executive Vice President, MedImpact Healthcare Systems, Inc., a provider of pharmacy benefits to more than 47 million individuals.
Significant work continues on a major research initiative launched by the AMCP Foundation to identify and assess the impact of rapidly changing dynamics in the U.S. health care system and their potential to improve patient care through integration of medication management practices. With support from Pfizer Inc., the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Foundation (AMCP) led initiative will also identify strategies in response to those trends to further improve patient care and outcomes.
The findings are to be released by the Foundation during the AMCP Nexus 2014 Conference in Boston in a special presentation October 9. It is expected that the project will produce a comprehensive and authoritative reference resource for managed care provider organizations, health care payers, policy makers and other stakeholders.
To date, over 120 emerging trends have been identified which will be reviewed by a panel of Subject Matter Experts (SME). The review will consist of an assessment of the trend’s relevance, its likelihood, and potential impact. The SME findings will be assessed and a comprehensive report will be drafted, which will also be reviewed by the SME panel prior to its release. The Foundation intends to distribute the reports findings broadly to the public and other healthcare stakeholders.
“We are very pleased to collaborate with Pfizer on this visionary, proactive initiative to improve patient care," said Edith A. Rosato, RPh, IOM, Chairman of the AMCP Foundation Board of Trustees and CEO of AMCP. "With the increasing focus placed on controlling the escalating costs of medications and the importance of adherence to medication therapy, the marketplace is ready for ideas and solutions that achieve the Triple Aim of Health Care: improving patient satisfaction and quality of care, improved population health, and assessability to health care and medications. Findings and assessments from the Emerging Trends Project will provide real-world insights on these key health policy priorities," Rosato noted.
Building a Bridge Campaign Climbs To $100,000 Goal
Under the theme Building a Bridge to the Future, AMCP members, associates and friends have contributednearly half of the $100,000 campaign goal in the Foundation’s first annual appeal campaign.
Campaign proceeds will be used to provide educational tools and programs to propel the profession and to develop future leaders and innovators in managed care pharmacy. Among current priorities is growing the next generation of pharmacy leaders through the many student internship opportunities,, coupled with research projects that can demonstrate the effectiveness of managed care pharmacy patient care tools.
Many companies operate programs to match employee donations to a certain level. A partial list of companies with matched giving programs that can support this campaign is available. Donors are encouraged to check with their company’s Human Resources department to take advantage of the opportunity to increase their giving impact.
AMCP Resident Moves into Pharmacy Affairs and Education Post
It just wasn’t lucky stars. Puneet Singh knows how to capitalize on her skills and expertise. It was her excellent project management abilities and keen interest in managed care that qualified her to assume a newly created position in the AMCP Pharmacy Affairs Department after she completes her AMCP residency June 30.
Foundation staff recently sat with the Long Island University, Brooklyn Pharm. D. graduate and asked her to share her experiences and impressions of AMCP and managed care pharmacy. Excerpts from that conversation are below.
How did you hear about AMCP and managed care pharmacy? The first time I found out about it was from one of our school administrators, Patrick Campbell, Director of Student & Professional Activities. He received the AMCP email about the position and saw I fit the profile and that it met many of my objectives -- leadership in health care, exposure to government and regulatory affairs, and still let me be involved with pharmacy.
What was your perception of managed care pharmacy before coming on board? As a student I didn’t truly understand managed care, my school didn’t have a heavy emphasis on managed care. I actually found out more by attending the AMCP annual meeting in San Francisco. I didn’t know how expansive managed care really was, but certainly learned that at AMCP.
How has your perception changed? I now recognize that managed care is a much bigger world than I originally envisioned; the types of careers a pharmacist can have. I knew health care was dynamic, but didn’t realize it until after I started at AMCP. As health care changes, I realized that a pharmacist can play a much more influential and bigger role in health care.
What do you feel you achieved during your residency? A lot—a few times I felt a little overwhelmed, but I had good guidance and professional support in my varied assignments. I learned both effective project management, and working effectively with other people. One of the biggest things I came to realize is the importance of planning, communication, and transparency for a successful project.
What would you recommend to other students considering a residency at AMCP? If students are considering a residency they should be participating in extra-curricular studies and seek opportunities to lead projects. It provides you the skills to learn how to manage and execute a project successfully. You’ll also learned about how to work within policies and procedures of an association and how they relate to and impact all of the activities of the association and its service to its members.
What could a sponsor gain if they supported a residency program at AMCP? An ROI for a sponsored residency should include time at the sponsoring organization; perhaps doing a research project related to the sponsor’s strategic objectives and be longitudinal. This would increase the value of the residency, and produce meaningful professional experiences. Residents y would be able to work with real-world experts; professionals in a unique learning experience—this would really distinguish AMCP.
What was your biggest surprise? Everyone works hard and is dedicated to a professional commitment at their job. Since I was exposed to many areas of AMCP during my residency, I was amazed at all the components of daily work that need to be addressed to keep the organization functioning smoothly. Things don’t always move as fast as you would want sometimes, but in the end, all of our activities are directed at the goal of advancing managed care pharmacy’s role in health care.
What accomplishment are you most proud? The opportunity to oversee student interns at AMCP. I was responsible to see that students received good exposure, and I’m pleased that the feedback from interns indicated that I related to their needs, I was a successful mentor for them, and was able to guide them in a meaningful way because I could put myself in their shoes.
Managed Care Pharmacy Summer Internship Programs Get Underway
The AMCP Foundation has a variety of unique Managed Care and Association Management learning opportunities available. Over the years, the Foundation has been fortunate to receive support to provide summer internships.
During their internship, student pharmacist gain knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry, health plans, pharmacy benefit management companies, employer groups, and professional association management. Over 150 student pharmacists have completed these sponsored summer internship programs since 1993.
Below are highlights from the 2014 Pfizer and Allergen summer internship programs.
The Pfizer Managed Care Pharmacy Summer Internship Program exposes interns to population health and the application of managed care pharmacy principles in formulary management, benefit design, medication therapy management and adherence management.
Working directly with pharmacists and other members of the health care team, interns will gain an appreciation of how managed care pharmacy principles seek to maximize health care resources and patient care outcomes.
During the nine weeks, the interns will work with the site preceptor to conceptualize, develop and complete projects related to improving the quality of patient care in managed care pharmacy and the results will be exhibited at AMCP Nexus 2014. Interns will also spend one week at AMCP Foundation headquarters in Alexandria, Va., and visit Pfizer headquarters in New York City.
2014 Pfizer Interns
Kun Yang
University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy
Preceptor: Craig Mattson
Site: Prime Therapeutics
Catherine Herren
University of Kentucky, College of Pharmacy
Site: PerformRx
Preceptor: Jamila Jordan
Leann McDowell
University of California, San Francisco
Site: OmedaRx
Preceptor: Carly Rodriguez
Brian Ung
University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy
Site: SelectHealth
Preceptor: Eric Cannon
The Allergan Specialized Summer Internship Program in Health Outcomes provides learning experiences for two student pharmacists. The program’s goal is to create awareness of career paths in health outcomes and pharmacoeconomics research, which are the foundation for evidence-based decision-making in managed health care systems. In addition, the interns will gain knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry, managed health care systems and professional association management.
The interns will spend nine weeks at the Allergan Global Health Outcomes Department in Irvine, CA, under the supervision of pharmacist preceptors and will complete a health outcomes-related project. The results will be exhibited at AMCP Nexus 2014. In addition, interns may spend one of those nine weeks in a managed care organization to gain a basic understanding of formulary development, implementation, maintenance, evaluation and the importance of health outcomes in the formulary decision-making process.
Interns will also spend time at AMCP Foundation headquarters in Alexandria, Va., where they will be introduced to the workings of professional associations.
2014 Allergan Interns
Nisreen A. Shamseddine:
Mercer University, College of Pharmacy
Team: GHOSR Eyecare Team
Allergan Preceptor: Joanna Campbell
OptumRx Preceptor: Ann Nakahira to assign
Bansri Desai:
University of Maryland, School of Pharmacy
Team: GHOSR Neuro/Uro
Allergan Preceptor Patrick Gillard
OptumRx Preceptor: Ann Nakahira
P&T Competition Draws 36 teams --- Record Participation
The National P&T Competition attracted a record 36 teams from AMCP Student Pharmacist Chapters. Each team submitted required written materials in the preliminary round, from which eight teams were selected to compete in live presentations held at the AMCP Annual Meeting. The competition provides student chapter members with an opportunity to hone a variety of essential skills related to the formulary management process and analysis of a product dossier, based on AMCP's Format for Formulary Submissions.
The 2014 winners were announced at the AMCP Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL. include:
- First place: University of California, San Francisco, including team members Edna Cheung, Randal Du, Isabel Fong, Thomas Lee and Faculty Advisor Glen Yokoyama. The first place team's school receives a $2500 scholarship
- Second place: University of Southern California, including team members Shannon Dervin, Kevin Hong, Karen Kowalski, Aidan Metzinger and Faculty Advisor Ed Lieskovan. The second place team's school receives a $1500 scholarship
- Third place: University of Illinois at Chicago, including team members Julie Bucek, Cortney Dunmars, Michael Gannon, Nashrah Maryum and Faculty Advisor Allen Shek. The third place team's school receives a $1000 scholarship
AMCP volunteer members served as judges and evaluated each team's case study submissions and presentations during the finalist competition. The 2014 National P&T Competition was supported by Genentech, Amgen and Dymaxium. The other finalist teams included Loma Linda University, Rutgers University, University of the Pacific, Western University of Health Sciences and University of Washington.
Record 68 Poster Presentations Compete
This year's contest featured a record 68 poster presentations. Volunteer judges evaluated posters and their authors according to the following criteria: the paper's scientific merit; evidence that the research conducted was innovative and practical; evidence that the results of the study match the paper's conclusions; the relevance of the study to managed care pharmacy practice; the clarity of the material; and the knowledge of the author regarding the subject matter during his or her presentation.
The poster award winners each receive a $500 check, a one-year AMCP membership, a complimentary registration for the AMCP Nexus Conference this October in Boston and an engraved plaque to commemorate this achievement.
- Best Student Poster: Carolyn Corn, University of Nebraska Medical Center, "Healthcare Resources Analysis of Influenza-Like Illness"
- Best Resident or Fellow Poster: Logan Brinn, CVS Caremark, "Evaluation of Utilization Trends Associated with the Treatment of Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia"
- Honorable Mention, Best Resident or Fellow Poster: Elizabeth Schwab, SelectHealth, "Suboxone Utilization Patterns within a Managed Care Setting"
Steven G. Avey Award Goes to Dr. Sean Sullivan, MS,PhD, RPh
The prestigious AMCP Foundation Steven G. Avey Award for sustained, exemplary and distinguished service to the profession of managed care pharmacy was awarded to Dr. Sean Sullivan, Stergachis Family Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy. The award was presented at the annual award ceremony during the AMCP Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL.
Dr. Sullivan was chosen for his many outstanding accomplishments, including service as director of the UW Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy Program; Co-Director of the University of Washington Centers for Comparative and Health Systems Effectiveness; author of more than 350 journal articles, book chapters, task force reports and government publications; and past chair of the AMCP Format Executive Committee responsible for the AMCP Format for Formulary Submissions.
Nominations for the 2015 award are now being accepted by the Foundation.
AMCP Foundation Holds Inaugural 5K Run During AMCP's Annual Meeting
Over 200 runners and walkers joined AMCP Foundation staff in Cotanchobee Park in downtown Tampa on April 3 to take part in the inaugural AMCP Foundation 5K Run for the Future. Congratulation to Brad Clay and Ruth Seiffert who earned the top prize in their two classes. If you participated in the 5K Run for the Future in Tampa, click here to see all the results of the race.