The Business of Pharmacy

ASHP 2008 Summer Meeting Learning Community: The Business of Pharmacy
A Leadership Series
June 9-11, 2008
Co-Sponsored by the American Society for Health-System Pharmacy and the ASHP Foundation’s Center for Health-System Pharmacy Leadership

When faced with escalating financial responsibility and seemingly out-of-control costs and bottom line pressure, hospital administrators sometimes question the ability of their pharmacy directors to manage the business equivalent of a multimillion dollar business.  Lack of understanding of the complexities of managing pharmacy operations, exception processes that make pharmacy so different than other clinical and operational departments and the uniqueness that makes pharmacy both a clinical and operational function underlie this concern.  All too often, issues surface only after critical incidents trigger doubts regarding the controls in place to manage specific functions, often with painful and disruptive results.

These six sessions will address proactive financial and business strategies for health-system pharmacy success and effective integration with organization-wide strategy and communication.

Program Session
Following an introduction that sets the stage for the learning community, we will examine six key financial questions required of successful pharmacy leaders:

  • Are we buying drugs at the best possible advantage?
  • Are sound business principles and practices being applied to all pharmacy operations?  (i.e., Is the pharmacy business being approached as the large business enterprise it has become?)
  • Are patient billing and revenue processes for pharmacy sound and routinely monitored?
  • Are pharmacy resources, including drugs, supplies and manpower, properly controlled and managed?
  • Are patient outcomes and medication safety concerns properly balanced with financial considerations in the pharmacy department?
  • Are all pharmacy entrepreneurial opportunities identified, explored, and pursued when appropriate?

Pharmacy Through the C-Suite Prism
Monday, June 9, 2008, 8:00 – 10:00 a.m.  
Faculty: Susan Teil Boyer, Vice President, Pharmacy and Laboratory Services, MultiCare Health System, and George Brown, Chief Operations Officer, MultiCare Health System

The first session explores communicating with the C-Suite and how the Pharmacy Executive and the Chief Operation Officer view the pharmacy enterprise.  Attendees will participate in an interactive dialog with hospital business experts.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

  • Describe the pivotal position of pharmacy business operations within health systems and its impact on organizational financial metrics and success.
  • Apply strategies for improving communication with the C-Suite and other key departments.
  • Explain key financial questions pharmacy leaders must address to proactively support overall organizational goals, aligned with effective pharmacy management.


Dollars and Sense - Building a Strong Financial Base
Monday, June 9, 2008, 2 – 5 p.m.  
Faculty: William Puckett, President,  Whp-Rx Consulting, Simon Scholtz, Vice-President and CFO, Lawrence Memorial Hospital, and Patrick E. Parker, Director of Pharmacy and IV Therapy, Lawrence Memorial Hospital

Charge systems, the revenue cycle, and related controls are the backbone of health system financial management which requires constant focus and attention, often missing in pharmacy management structures.   You’ll get the basics of business plans, cost/benefit analysis, and return on investment.  You’ll also examine budgeting, variance analysis and other controls, as well as the effective use of dashboards for monitoring performance.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

  • Explain the challenges and problems of charge systems, the revenue cycle, and related controls.
  • Identify and explain selected business tools and resources for strategic management and operational controls.
  • Identify and explain selected strategies, resources and organizational capabilities for achieving departmental and organizational results.


Stewardship of Resources: Part 1 – People
Tuesday, June 10, 2008, 8 – 10 a.m.  
Faculty: Phillip E. Johnson, Director of Pharmacy, H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, and Sara White, Pharmacy Leadership Consultant

In this session, you’ll explore critical issues that surround organizational structure, staffing profiles, organizational capability,   individual competencies, and succession planning as essential  building blocks for the productive stewardship of the people we call “resources.”

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

  • Apply strategies for building individual capability.
  • Explain strategies for building organizational capacity.
  • Apply strategies for recognizing high-potential and emerging leaders.
  • Discuss the creative options and alternatives for managing the human resource pipeline.


Stewardship of Resources: Part 2 – Services
Tuesday, June 10, 2008, 2 – 4:30 p.m.  
Faculty: Ronald H. Small, Chief Pharmacy Officer and Vide President, Healthcare Research and Quality, Wake Forest Medical Center; Timothy Lesar, Director of Pharmacy, Albany Medical Center; and Agatha Nolen, Director of Ethics and Compliance, Hospital Corporation of America

Too often, pharmacy leaders view their role in narrow terms, focused on the integrity of the department’s clinical and operational day-to-day function, with little attention to the influence pharmacy must exert in the larger organization.  In this session, explore the relationships of internal services, the balancing of cost management with clinical service quality, and the connections between patient safety and risk management, both internal to departmental function and externally within the larger organization.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

  • Identify and explain strategies, tactics and messaging for drug-cost management.
  • Explain the relationship between risk management, patient safety, and service, and its critical importance to the overall organizational and patient care goals.
  • Explain how to effectively use tools for monitoring and reporting return on investment, fiscal responsibility and patient care management.


Innovating for the Future
Wednesday, June 11, 2008, 8 – 11 a.m.  
Faculty: James A. Jorgenson, Pharmacy Services, University of Utah Hospital; Douglas E. Miller, President, Douglas E. Miller, LLC; and Bob Carta, Assistant Vice President, Pharmacy Services, Carolinas Healthcare System

Find out how to build the capacity for creativity and innovation.  Learn from entrepreneurial leaders who will share their insights on challenging traditional thinking, strategies for change management, and capitalizing on new service opportunities.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

  • Apply strategies for change management.
  • Explain tactics for fostering creativity and developing entrepreneurship.
  • Describe characteristics of risk assessment and mitigation, to support effective decisions.


The Business of Pharmacy:  Putting it all Together  
Wednesday, June 11, 2008, 1 – 2:30 p.m. 
Faculty: Keith Hanchey, Executive Director, Ernst & Young LLP Health Sciences Advisory Services, and Billy Woodward, Executive Director, Renaissance Innovative Pharmacy Services
Moderators: Sharon Murphy Enright, Senior Manager, Ernst & Young, LLP, Health Sciences Advisory Services; Timothy Lesar, Director of Pharmacy, Albany Medical Center; and Agatha Nolen, Director of Ethics and Compliance, Hospital Corporation of America

This session will challenge you to be an executive in your organization.  Keith Hanchey will draw from the previous 5 session’s key messages to illustrate the need to carve out a position for pharmacy at every point of service that the pharmacy touches.  Following the presentation he will be joined by Billy Woodward and a faculty member from each of the previous sessions to discuss putting it all together in proactive pharmacy financial management perspectives, strategies, tactics and skills for building integration, organizational alignment and departmental growth.

Learning Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:

  • Identify strategies for positioning your pharmacy department operations within the business function of your organization.
  • Explain the advantages of proactive financial management strategies.
  • Describe how effective pharmacy business management supports common organizational, departmental and patient care goals.  

For more information about this Learning Community, visit http://www.ashp.org/meetings/summer/program/lc-schedules.cfm.

To learn more about the ASHP Summer Meeting, June 7-12, 2008 go to www.ashp.org