Summer Intern Perspectives: Zach Nunemaker, AMCP Foundation/Pfizer Inc. Managed Care Summer Intern

This past summer, I had the privilege to complete the AMCP Foundation/Pfizer, Inc. Managed Care Internship at HealthPartners. I cannot believe how fast time flew by over these ten weeks. As I have had the time to reflect on this experience, I cannot express how impactful this internship was on my knowledge and understanding of the various cross-functional areas of managed care pharmacy. This internship provided many opportunities, including real-world experience, research projects, and networking facilitated by HealthPartners, AMCP Foundation, and Pfizer preceptors and employers. 

Throughout the internship, I worked on various projects such as drug utilization reviews (DURs) analyzing cost and utilization trends, journal clubs over recent FDA-approved drugs and other clinical studies, and the capstone research project  I presented at AMCP Nexus  2022. My first project assessed Tirzepatide (Mounjaro), a recent FDA-approved glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) for the treatment of type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and compared its safety, efficacy, and cost to other drugs within the GLP-1 RA drug class. My second and third projects were DURs analyzing cost and utilization trends for diabetic medical equipment (DME). More specifically, I analyzed claims data for the first DUR to evaluate the cost per quarter per year across various coverage plans for Omnipod 5. For the second DUR, I analyzed over 300,000 claims comparing the cost and utilization trends for continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) vs. diabetic test strips. Finally, my capstone research project was a retrospective cohort analysis examining GLP-1 RA utilization within a managed care health plan. Completing my capstone project has been an incredibly rewarding experience. 

Outside of projects, I had the opportunity to engage in weekly virtual capstone presentations from the other interns, educational sessions with Pfizer, and weekly journal clubs with AMCP Foundation. As for HealthPartners, I had the opportunity to attend weekly P&T prep meetings, DUR small group meetings, and Weekly Drug Update meetings. In addition, I had the chance to travel to Minnesota, where I shadowed various MTM pharmacists as I transitioned through different HealthPartners clinics. This was such a great experience as I witnessed multiple counseling sessions where a pharmacist utilized a translator for communicating essential medical information.  

I want to start by thanking my Health Partners preceptor, Pete Marshall, and Pfizer preceptors, Tyler Gums, David Gross, and Amy Miller, for being so welcoming to the team, facilitating all the projects and learning experiences throughout the internship, and providing me with all their knowledge and expertise in managed care and the pharmaceutical industry. I also want to thank Dan Rehrauer for inviting me to the event, “Beyond the Slice: Building Payer-Provider Relationships that Generate Value,” and Michelle Carr, Kelly Potz, Tuesday McAuliffe Staehler, Joseph VonBank, Mitchell Nelson, and the rest of the HealthPartners team for providing in-depth learning experiences and encouraging my growth in all areas of managed care pharmacy. Thank you, Vinson Lee, for being such a great mentor and your willingness to take the time to look over projects and provide me with excellent future career advice. I want to give a huge thanks to Ebony Clay for coordinating such a wonderful and smooth virtual experience. Thank you, Paula Eichenbrenner, Kenneth Garcia, and Mei Huang, for coordinating AMCP Foundation journal clubs. Lastly, I would like to thank AMCP Foundation and Pfizer, Inc. for sponsoring this internship, allowing students to further their education and enhance their knowledge in managed care and the pharmaceutical industry.   

Support managed care research and the cultivation of tomorrow's leaders by making a gift today!