DISRxUPT

Pharmacists have been identified as the most accessible healthcare professional. With this in mind, pharmacists are perfectly positioned to impact many public health problems faced today. Whether related to smoking cessation, vaccination, health screening, diagnostic testing, nutritional deficiencies, the opioid crisis, or maternal-fetal health, pharmacists can transform the health of communities around the nation and the world!Listen as we talk with Myriam Shaw Ojeda, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. She also serves as the Director of Pharmacy Extension and Public Health Initiatives with the Ohio Pharmacists Association and is a 2019 alumna of the Cedarville University School of Pharmacy. In this episode, she explains how pharmacists can impact public health in myriad ways.

Is pharmacogenomic testing helpful in geriatric patients? You bet, and Dr. Tamara Ruggles is leading the way in this area. Tamara is no stranger to breaking through barriers and improving patient care through entrepreneurship, innovation, collaboration, and relationship-building. She is a Board Certified Geriatric Pharmacist with over ten years of experience as a consultant pharmacist in the long-term care setting. Tamara is the owner and operator of Specialty Pharmacy Consulting and The Deprescribing Clinic. She also hosts the LTC Pharmacy Podcast on the Pharmacy Podcast Network. She is passionate about antimicrobial stewardship, pharmacogenomics, deprescribing, and reducing anticholinergic burden.  Tamara and her husband live with their seven children in Bismarck, North Dakota.In this episode of DISRxUPT, Tamara tells how she started her own consulting business and later founded The Deprescribing Clinic, which leverages pharmacogenomic testing to tailor medication regimens for her patients. We also delve into antimicrobial stewardship, deprescribing in older adults, podcasting, and even a little college basketball! Listen and be inspired by Tamara's passion for improving the lives of her patients in novel ways.

Pickleball is one of the newest sports that has taken the United States by storm. So what does pharmacy have to do with pickleball? Well, probably a lot more than you think! For any athlete to stay at the top of their game (including pickleballers), many factors must be considered: mental toughness, nutrition, physical training, functional movement, metabolic health, and even supplements and medications. Some of these medications are taken chronically, while others are used to treat injuries of all types. Few people understand the comprehensive needs of athletes better than our guest on this episode, Dr. Brandon Welch. Brandon serves as the clinical sports wellness pharmacist for Baptist Health South Florida. He is also the founder of Pharmacy Athlete and President of the Sports Pharmacy Network. Brandon is a certified sports nutritionist, nutrigenomics specialist, consultant pharmacist, and wellness coach. For years, he has taught athletes effective and practical ways to improve their metabolic health and optimize human performance. Brandon has worked with elite athletes ranging from “weekend warriors” to professional athletes in the ATP, NFL, NHL, and PGA. Listen as he explains what Sports Pharmacy entails and how this industry is ripe for innovation and expansion!

Most pharmacists enter the profession with a strong desire to serve the needs of people. However, few of these pharmacists are aware of opportunities to serve internationally in full-time medical missions. This service is not for the faint of heart; it requires creativity to provide care in resource-limited areas, the sacrifice of luxuries and comforts of home, the endurance of unexpected hardships, and a steadfast commitment to the mission of making the gospel known. Listen as our guest shares his perspective on serving as a pharmacist and medical missionary in West Africa. Learn how he uses creative problem-solving to meet the needs of the people he serves, how he keeps focused on the most difficult days, and how his Christian faith motivates his desire to make both a temporal and eternal impact on the people of West Africa.

Being an entrepreneur can be a grueling task. Long hours, sleepless nights, anxieties, and failures can take their toll. However, we all have the opportunity to leverage these challenges to learn, grow, and succeed. Casondra Seibert, PharmD, BCGP, FASCP, is evidence of just that. After completing her PharmD degree at the Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) and completing a PGY1 residency in geriatric/underserved populations with the University of Cincinnati, Casondra became the Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services for RxArchitects. Her practice is primarily consulting with a special interest in pharmacist impact assessments in the post-acute and long-term care (PALTC) setting. Casondra serves as an adjunct faculty member for the University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy. She precepts students, acts as site coordinator for pharmacy residents, and guest lectures within the geriatric elective. Casondra is published in areas of senior care pharmacy, pharmacist impact, opioid stewardship, and clinical technology development. She currently serves as the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists (ASCP)’s Quality Impact Project Chair and an Ohio ASCP Board Member. The organization recently recognized Casondra as the 2023 ASCP National Educator of the Year. Listen as Cas shared her perspectives on how she lives life to the fullest as a pharmacist who continues to push patient care to new heights.

Have you ever come up with a helpful idea for yourself that also could provide value to others? That's the story of Pyrls, a new player in the drug information space. Derek Borkowski identified a personal need for a streamlined resource to identify appropriate counseling points for patients in the community pharmacy. With a lot of grit, the acquisition of new skills, and the right teammates, Derek's idea of "drug information made easy" transformed into a web-based and mobile app solution trusted by pharmacists, physicians, physician associates, nurse practitioners, nurses, dentists, and professional students. Listen as we hear Derek tell the story of Pyrls, the lessons he has learned along the way, and his thoughts about how technological innovation will continue to transform drug information and the practice of pharmacy in the future.

Pharmacists are typically known for providing medication and clinical services. Kim Newlove breaks this mold, however, demonstrating that a career as a pharmacist can take on many different forms! Kim is not only a pharmacist, but a voice actor, podcast host, volunteer, wife, and the mother of two young men. She founded The Pharmacist's Voice®, LLC in 2017 and launched The Pharmacist’s Voice® Podcast in 2019. Through this work, she has become a go-to pharmacist in audio production. Kim believes in the transformative power of well-communicated messages, and her mission is to connect with her audience to develop trust. She narrates audiobooks for pharmacist authors, helps pharmacy professionals plan podcasts, teaches drug name pronunciations, provides medical narration to clients in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and CME industries, and narrates content for explainer videos and eLearning projects, among other things.Kim and her family live in Northwest Ohio. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family, playing Ticket to Ride Switzerland, swimming, and riding her BMW C400X motorbike. Listen in as we hear the inspiring story of The Pharmacist's Voice and learn from Kim's journey as a pharmacy entrepreneur!

Since we last talked about artificial intelligence (AI) in pharmacy on Episode 9 of the podcast back in May of 2021, a lot has changed. OpenAI's ChatGPT has opened AI technology to the masses and this technology is poised to change many aspects of modern life, including healthcare. Dr. Andrew Straw, Vice Chair and Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Cedarville University, and Luke O'Brien, one of our student innovators in the Cedarville University Center for Pharmacy Innovation, join us in the studio to discuss how AI is changing pharmacy practice and education, now and into the future. 

If you ask today's pharmacists and students pharmacists why they chose to pursue a pharmacy career, nearly all of these individuals express a heartfelt desire to serve others. While this can be done in many different pharmacy settings, free medical clinics provide a unique opportunity for pharmacists to assist underserved populations with their medication and healthcare needs. Alex Hintz, Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the Cedarville University School of Pharmacy and volunteer pharmacist at Hardin Clinic, and Joshua Pearson, an alumnus of Cedarville University and Director of Pharmacy Services at Health Partners Free Clinic in Troy, Ohio, sit down to discuss their experiences in two very different free medical clinics. Listen as Alex and Josh discuss the creative and impactful ways they have improved the lives of others while serving as pharmacists in free medical clinics within Ohio.

When most people think of medical complexity, they often think of our aging population. However, a significant number of children also have multiple medical conditions, complex medication regimens, and myriad providers involved in their care. This leads to the risk of medication errors, drug interactions, therapeutic duplications, and many other concerns with their medications. Unfortunately, many of these kids do not have access to a pharmacist specializing in pediatric care. Jena Quinn, PharmD, BCPPS, founder and owner of Perfecting Peds, is on a quest to solve these issues through a number of services, including comprehensive medication management, pharmacogenomic testing, and consultation services tailored specifically to the unique medical needs of children. Listen as Jena describes her journey as a pediatric pharmacist and entrepreneur pursuing her vision to ensure optimal medication therapy outcomes for pediatric patients around the nation.

On rare occasions, great ideas come to our minds like lightning bolts. More often than not, though, true innovation requires hard work, dedication, and persistence. Additionally, the most innovative people embrace particular mindsets, skill sets, and processes for developing these ideas. One such approach to transformational innovation is a process called design thinking. Jim O’Donnell, Executive Director of Pharmacy Services for Kettering Health in the Greater Dayton Area, joins us in the studio to discuss the power of design thinking. Listen as Jim describes his mindset as an innovator, his journey of implementing design thinking in healthcare, and ways in which pharmacists can foster meaningful innovation in healthcare today.

Pharmacists have long desired to practice at the "top of their license," and this ideal is becoming more of a reality in the United States. A number of states have granted pharmacists the ability to provide chronic disease state management and test-to-treat services, which can both include prescribing. However, practicing according to this status as a provider requires a demonstration of expertise and competency that is new to many pharmacists. So, what are credentialing and privileging, and what do these ideas mean for pharmacy practice advancement today? Dr. Ryan Steadman, Senior Vice President of Pharmacy at CareSource, and Shannon Steele, Pharmacy Community Program Manager at CareSource, join us in the studio to discuss pharmacy practice advancement and the roles that credentialing and privileging play in these efforts. 

By nature of their training, pharmacists are uniquely qualified to serve as society's drug experts. This expertise translates well to roles within the pharmaceutical industry, including the position of medical science liaison (MSL). What is an MSL and what does this role entail? What additional training is needed for a pharmacist to serve in an MSL position? What other opportunities are there for pharmacists to leverage their unique skill sets and training within the pharmaceutical industry? Dr. Stephanie Wu, Medical Science Liaison in Allergy & Respiratory at Sanofi, joins us on the podcast to discuss these topics and more. Listen as she describes her role as an MSL and highlights the growing opportunity for pharmacists in the field. 

Disasters are often catastrophic, in part because they are both rare and unpredictable. Whether it be a natural disaster such as a hurricane, a mass casualty event, or a global pandemic, having highly trained and qualified healthcare teams ready to deploy at a moment's notice is a key strategy to meet the medical needs of those affected. Today's pharmacists are well-trained to serve a key role on these rapid response teams. What does the pharmacist's role look like when responding to disasters? Dr. Shannon Manzi answers this question and many more related to disaster medical response. She currently serves as the Director of Safety & Quality for the Department of Pharmacy at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is also an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and serves as Lead Pharmacist for the MA-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) as part of the National Disaster Medical System, Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Listen as she describes her role in disaster medical assistance teams and calls other pharmacists to action in this vital role. 

When you go to see a doctor, nurse practitioner, physical therapist, or one of many other healthcare professionals, your health information is typically stored in a secure electronic patient chart. This allows for the collection of comprehensive health information and continuity of care for each patient. However, pharmacists in community pharmacies typically do not have access to this information and rely heavily on prescription fill histories. With the advanced training pharmacists receive today, can this critical information be shared with pharmacists in a way that protects private health information while also enhancing the services that a pharmacist is trained to provide? In this episode of DISRxUPT, Dr. Cathy Kuhn, manager of clinical programs for Custom Health, joins us to discuss how health information exchanges (HIEs) may be a solution that provides pharmacists with all the health information needed to provide advanced clinical services, including chronic disease state management, test-to-treat services, and many others. Listen as we discuss how HIEs can enhance the role of the pharmacist as part of the interprofessional care team for patients.

For many, community pharmacy is primarily known for prescription drug services. Payment for prescriptions is provided by insurance companies through pharmacy benefits managers. These prescription drugs include many low-cost generic medications taken every day for the maintenance of health. But is this the best model? What if prescription benefits were only accessed for high-cost medications? Could healthcare cost savings for individuals and the system be realized with a more simplistic and transparent approach? Might clinical services and patient experience be enhanced if some pharmacies embraced a new way? In this episode of DISRxUPT, Dr. Kyle McCormick, president of Blueberry Pharmacy, joins us to discuss the work that he and his team are doing to realize this vision at Blueberry Pharmacy. Listen as we discuss how cost-plus, memberships, and other pharmacy models might be just what the profession and our patients need today.

There is a growing body of research supporting how pharmacists improve patient outcomes and population health. However, some of these interventions are not adopted more widely within the modern healthcare system. Multiple barriers can stifle innovation and uptake of new services that are clearly beneficial to patients. So how can change be catalyzed? In this episode of DISRxUPT, Dr. Denise Rhoney, who serves as the Ron and Nancy McFarlane Distinguished Professor in the Division of Practice Advancement and Clinical Education at the University of North Carolina’s Eshelman School of Pharmacy, joins us to discuss this topic of implementation science. Listen as we discuss how implementation science can be used as a key tool to foster innovation in healthcare today.

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly changed pharmacy practice, including the pharmacist's role in testing for various conditions and diseases. In some parts of the country, pharmacists can go to another level when an illness is discovered by providing appropriate treatment. In this episode of DISRxUPT, Dr. Justin Coby, Director of Cedar Care Village Pharmacy in Cedarville, Ohio, joins us to discuss this topic. Listen as we peel back the layers of test-to-treat protocols in pharmacies today.

Joe D'Silva, founder, CEO, and CSO of Patient & Consumers (P&C) Pharma, has always had an eye toward developing high-quality pharmaceutical products. Driven by a passion for enhancing personalized patient care and a vision to take the technology used in the pharmaceutical industry into the pharmacy itself, Joe left roles in the pharmaceutical industry to found P&C Pharma. Through this work, Joe developed QuartetRx, a first-in-class oral liquid compounding device that leverages wet milling technology to produce consistent oral liquid medications without the need for manual compounding. In this episode of DISRxUPT, Will Boyko, consultant pharmacist with P&C Pharma, along with Joe D'Silva, join us to discuss their journey of taking QuartetRx from a dream to a reality and the ways in which this technology can benefit both patients and pharmacists. We will also discuss how current and future pharmacists can be change agents in the profession.

Sue Paul is a pharmacist who sees and seizes every opportunity. Energized through her experiences in various pharmacy settings and driven to provide better care for patients, Sue went on to become president and founder of SyneRxgy Consulting, co-founder of Medipreneurs, and co-founder of PGx101. In this episode of DISRxUPT, Sue joins us to discuss her unique experiences as a pharmacy entrepreneur, the many people who supported her along the way, and her passion for connecting other pharmacy innovators with one another to foster change in the profession.