Estera Opris, PharmD, BCPS, serves as Director of Pharmacy at Kindred Hospital-St. Anthony's.
On April 7th, Estera will serve on the panel "Key Thoughts to Control Pharmacy Costs: What Percentage of Revenues Are Pharmacy Costs? How Do You Say No (and Sometimes Yes) to New Drugs? What’s the Most Important Thing to do to Control Costs?" at Becker's Hospital Review 11th Annual Meeting. As part of an ongoing series, Becker's is talking to healthcare leaders who plan to speak at the conference, which will take place on April 6-9, 2020 in Chicago.
To learn more about the conference and Michelle's session, click here.
Question: What's one lesson you learned early in your career that has helped you lead in healthcare?
Estera Opris: The most valuable lesson that I learned early in my career was that things constantly change and what is true today might not be true tomorrow. Therefore, what is even more important than having the knowledge is knowing where to find it.
Q: Where do you go for inspiration and fresh ideas?
EO: I like reading articles and staying current with what is happening in healthcare in our market, in our country and in the world. Also, I like to travel and meet people from other parts of the world and listen to their experiences and stories.
Q: What, from your perspective, is the biggest challenge about the future of work for hospitals, and what can they do about it?
EO: The biggest challenge that I see today in healthcare is the constant increase in cost. The costs of products and services continue to increase while the reimbursements are decreasing. Regarding the solution, I wish I would have a great answer… a solution is what hospitals all around the country are looking for. What I would say is that we should always be informed and know what is coming next; know the new laws and their implementation timeline. That way, we can be prepared for the changes that are coming up and not have to battle last minute surprises.