2014 Steven G. Avey Award Recipient

The AMCP Foundation Steven G. Avey Award was established in 2001 to recognize an AMCP member for sustained, exemplary and distinguished service to the profession of managed care pharmacy.  It is the AMCP Foundation's highest award. 

2014 Steven G. Avey Award Recipient - Sean D. Sullivan, MS, PhD, RPh

Thank you, Annette for the introduction and to the Foundation Board and AMCP leadership for this special and unexpected award. I have been privileged to know and work closely with the individual whose name appropriately adorns this award – Steven G. Avey.

Steve is the consummate professional, with clear vision and focus. His leadership of the Foundation enabled transformative changes to managed care pharmacy practice. I was fortunate to be part of one of those efforts.  Fifteen years ago, Steve Avey, Richard Fry and I – and later Cindy Pigg and Pete Penna - set out to alter the way that medical products producers provide post-approval information to managed care pharmacy decision makers.  That effort – now called the AMCP Format – was heavily challenged by industry and even by some in managed care.  There was active resistance to changing the status quo.  Our goal was simple - to shift the control of evidence intended to support formulary decisions from an industry-centric approach to one that placed it firmly within managed care pharmacy. Every step of the way, the Format Executive Committee worked through obstacles and barriers, because we knew it was the right thing to do. I am very proud of what has been achieved and owe a great deal to a dedicated group of AMCP members. One noticeable product of this effort is the growing AMCP student competition, centered on the Format.  This year alone, over 45 Schools of Pharmacy participated in the competition.

I stand at this podium in the shadow of a great many mentors and extraordinary students who have contributed to my accomplishments. There are too many past and current mentors and students to name, individually. I thank all of them publicly tonight. I also thank, my wife Catrena and two children – Kiera and Aidan – for their unwavering support, and to my cousin Mary who lives in the Tampa area and was able to join me this evening.  I am blessed to have exceptional colleagues at the University of Washington, including longstanding collaborators Scott Ramsey and David Veenstra.

Finally, I thank my terrific partners at Regence Blue Shield and Premera Blue Cross who have been receptive to my crazy ideas, and sometimes willing to implement them.

While I appreciate that this award is for distinguished lifetime achievement, I promise that I am not going away anytime soon. There is more work to be done. Thank you again for this wonderful recognition.