Not Your Every-Day Career Advice

May 2020 | Elena Stegemann, BSCHE, MBA

A special note: this blog was written a few months ago when the world was very different, and we all interacted freely at places of learning and work. While the world has changed dramatically since then, I believe my observations are still valid for those navigating various stages of their careers. I encourage you to read on and to think about how today’s rapidly evolving norms about how and where work takes place will either challenge or enable you to embrace my advice more freely.

Read More
The Future of Technology and its Impact on Pharmacy Patient Care

February 2020 | Denise Klinker, PharmD, MBA

ASHP’s 2019 Midyear Clinical Meeting Attendees Hit the Jackpot In Las Vegas

ASHP hosted another successful event in December for over 26,000 health-system pharmacists in Las Vegas, offering hundreds of educational activities over four days. Attendees heard from clinical experts and leaders from across the globe on a wide range of topics, including improving pharmacy operational health and finances, resident and new practitioner development, and, not to mention, the vast number of clinical sessions offered to improve clinician skills at all levels. Some of the newer, hot topics included discussions and activities on staff well-being and the use of cannabis for patient care. There were so many excellent presentations; however, I found myself especially interested in the ones focused on the role of technology in pharmacy. As a pharmacist working at McCreadie Group, where we focus on delivering innovative software solutions for pharmacy research and education, I particularly appreciated those sessions that focused on the relationship between new technology and advances in patient care. These sessions allowed me to appreciate just how far we’ve come and to imagine the impact developing technologies will have on patient care and the role of pharmacists in the future.

Read More
The Hidden Stars of Research Pharmacies: Certified Pharmacy Technicians (CPhT)

October 2019 | Richard Malone, MHA

Pharmaceutical clinical trials have no doubt become more complicated over the last several years. Trial design, clinical supply logistics, handling and preparation of study products, as well as related documentation have become increasingly difficult and highly scrutinized. Escalations in demand for strict adherence to storage conditions and chain of custody requirements have become prevalent as well.

Managing even a few trials can be demanding for a research pharmacy. Managing hundreds of trials as take place at many academic medical centers across the country can seem downright impossible. Yet study participants receive life-changing medications daily as a result of the hard work going on behind the scenes. In a previous blog, I attempted to shine a light on the role of pharmacists in the clinical research environment. While pharmacists certainly play an integral role in any investigational drug service (IDS), there is usually an equally important set of certified pharmacy technicians working with them as well. In fact, I guarantee any large, top-notch research pharmacy has a team of all-star pharmacy technicians shouldering an impressive amount of work and responsibility every day.

Read More
The Role of an Investigational Drug Service (IDS) Pharmacist

August 2019 | Richard Malone, PharmD & MHA

I’m now nearly 25 years into my career as a pharmacist and I’ve traveled down a very different path than most of my counterparts. Being a pharmacist serving in roles including Critical Care Clinical Specialist, Pharmacy Director, and Corporate Director of Pharmacy Operations along with a stint as Chief Executive Officer taught me to approach the “What do you do?” conversation more strategically over the years. I suspect pharmacists reading this piece know exactly what I’m talking about.

Read More
Interprofessional Education in Pharmacy Requires Intentional Development & Documentation of Experiential Activities

July 2019 | Richard Malone, PharmD & MHA | Contributing Editor: Denise Klinker, PharmD & MBA

While recently perusing the pharmacy literature, I ran across an interesting commentary on the interprofessional education (IPE) movement in pharmacy training. Before I could finish reading the first introductory paragraph, my mind quickly wandered back to my days as a pharmacy student and resident.

Read More
Slow Acceptance of Technology Adversely Affects Clinical Trial Stakeholders from Sponsors to Patients

July 2019 | Richard Malone, PharmD, MHA

I remember my sense of surprise when I jumped into the clinical research arena full-time several years ago. Having spent over 15 years incorporating cutting edge technology and analytics into my clinical and administrative roles in pharmacy practice, I was relatively shocked by the volumes of paper littered with handwriting of varying degrees of legibility contained in our site study binders.

Read More