In 2025, pharmacy leaders are grappling with a billion-dollar question: how to deliver high-quality, patient-centered care amid financial strain, policy uncertainty, and rapid technological change. From drug shortages and workforce challenges to AI integration and regulatory shifts, the path forward demands bold leadership, strategic focus, and a renewed commitment to people and purpose.
The 14 executives featured in this article are all speaking at the Becker’s Healthcare Fall Chief Pharmacy Officer Summit, from Nov. 5-6, 2025 at the Hilton Chicago.
To learn more about this event, click here.
If you would like to join as a reviewer, contact Mariah Muhammad at mmuhammad@beckershealthcare.com or agendateam@beckershealthcare.com.
As part of an ongoing series, Becker’s is talking to healthcare leaders who will speak at our conference. The following are answers from our speakers at the event.
Question: What’s the billion-dollar question facing executives in 2025?
Denise Scarpelli, PharmD. Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer of University of Chicago: The question is what type of government changes will occur that impact healthcare such as Medicaid cuts, site of care payment changes, and 340B changes.
John Armitstead. Vice President of Pharmacy Services at Lee Health: Political instability across the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government undermines consistent health policy development and implementation, creating uncertainty and redirection in healthcare delivery. We are in a period of shifting executive priorities and relative legislative gridlock which can alter or stall healthcare legislation, financing and services. This healthcare instability can hamper the pharmacy profession’s ability to plan, innovate, and ensure consistent patient care; potentially affecting access, affordability, quality and outcomes of pharmacy services.
Michael Evans. Chief Pharmacy Officer of Geisinger (Danville, Pa.): Leaders are dealing with several critical issues that affect the delivery of healthcare.
1. Workforce shortages across all skill sets.
2. Financial constraints due to increased costs of supply, medications and labor with coinciding decreased reimbursement.
3. Aging populations who are utilizing scarce healthcare resources.
Madeline Camejo, PharmD. Vice President of Pharmacy Services and Chief Pharmacy Officer at Baptist Health South Florida:
Reinvesting in the fundamentals. Despite the temptation to chase new trends, leaders need to focus on their people and purpose to achieve meaningful results, have good outcomes, and continue to lower healthcare costs. This involves strengthening employee engagement, promoting a culture of continuous improvement, and aligning strategic goals with core values. By prioritizing these key areas, organizations can create a sustainable path to success and address challenges in the evolving healthcare landscape.
Human and artificial intelligence: Finding the right balance between human and AI capabilities is crucial for unlocking value creation. This includes addressing data privacy, security concerns and managing AI-related ethics and accuracy.
As AI becomes more integrated into business operations, executives must address ethical concerns and the accuracy of the information being generated. This involves ensuring transparency in AI decision-making processes, implementing robust data governance, and providing continuous training for employees to effectively use AI tools. Additionally, fostering an environment where ethical considerations are regularly reviewed and updated is essential. Building strong leadership foundations to connect teams and face rapid change is also crucial for successfully navigating the intersection of human and artificial intelligence.
Navigating Rapid Regulatory Changes: Executives must stay updated on policy changes, especially those happening in Washington, and understand how these changes will affect healthcare.
Sahil Sheth, PharmD. Director of Pharmacy Services and PGY1 Pharmacy Residency Director at Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center: How can we sustainably deliver high-quality, patient-centered care while controlling rising costs and addressing critical workforce challenges? At Luminis Health, we witness daily the strain of drug shortages, escalating medication prices, and the growing need for individualized therapies. The answer lies in reimagining how pharmacy executives operate – by utilizing the power of autonomous systems and AI-driven technologies within our healthcare systems to unlock new levels of precision, efficiency, and insight. These innovations not only streamline complex workflows and optimize inventory management, but also elevate the role of pharmacy in driving better clinical and operational outcomes. Success will demand strong collaboration within our teams, and a shared commitment to value-based care. We must remain focused on optimizing outcomes, not just for the bottom line, but also for the well-being of our employees, patients, and the communities we serve.
Mark Makhinson, PharmD. Senior Director of Outpatient Pharmacy at Mount Sinai Health System (New York City): The question I hear most often is how will AI change your current operations and impact future productivity. Every decision we make as leaders must be analyzed with an eye to the future since the pace of change is accelerating so quickly. Additionally, how do we prepare the organization for these changes while maintaining current workflows and processes? By supporting your staff, being an advocate for change, and following up to ensure adoption, leaders in today’s healthcare environment will be equipped to answer these hard questions.
Michael C. Dejos, PharmD. System Medication Safety Officer of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare: In 2025, the billion-dollar question facing healthcare executives is how to deliver equitable, high-quality care consistently at scale while maintaining financial sustainability in an increasingly complex and consumer-driven environment. Workforce shortages, clinician burnout, and rising costs challenge traditional models of healthcare delivery and demand urgent innovation. At the same time, patients expect seamless, personalized experiences that rival other industries, pushing health systems to rethink access, engagement, and service design. The rapid evolution of digital health, AI, and data analytics offers transformative potential, but it also introduces ethical, regulatory, and operational risks that must be carefully managed. Executives must lead with a strategic vision that balances innovation, equity, safety, and resilience to thrive in this new healthcare era.
Dovena Lazaridis, PharmD. Director of Pharmacy, Ambulatory and Population Health at Memorial Healthcare System (Hollywood, Fla.): How do we design care models that improve outcomes and lower costs without overextending the teams expected to deliver them?
That’s the billion-dollar question. Because solving for cost or innovation in isolation will not be enough. We need integrated models that work for patients, payers, and the people delivering care.
Success will depend on designing care models that are financially sound, operationally aligned, and built to adapt while still delivering measurable results for the populations we serve.
Jorge J. García, PharmD. Assistant Vice President of System Oncology, Infusion and Investigational Drug Pharmacy Services at Baptist Health South Florida: As intravenous therapeutic options continue to expand beyond oncology, medical practices across various specialties have a unique opportunity to enhance patient care, broaden service offerings, and diversify revenue streams. The absence of infusion infrastructure within fields such as neurology, cardiology, rheumatology, and gastroenterology — coupled with limited familiarity with buy-and-bill models — presents significant potential for practices with existing infusion capabilities or those looking to develop them.
By establishing or expanding infusion services, organizations can offer more comprehensive, in-house treatment solutions that retain patients within the practice while minimizing care fragmentation, reducing the burden of care coordination, and eliminating barriers associated with unnecessary transitions of care. Effective pharmacotherapy management of these chronic conditions help achieve optimal disease control which is essential for improving both the quality of care, and the quality of life for patients. In this respect, accessible comprehensive infusion services play a pivotal role in reducing overall care costs by minimizing the need for acute interventions, such as emergency services and hospitalizations. Are you familiar with the fast-emerging infusion service models? Which is best suited to meet your patient care needs while leveraging your organization’s potential?
Jordan DeAngelis, PharmD, MS. Associate Chief Pharmacy Officer of UVA Health: The billion-dollar question facing healthcare leaders in 2025 is how to ensure financial sustainability in a system with increasing operational costs, tightening reimbursement, and uncertainty in Medicare, Medicaid, and programs like 340B. Safety net providers rely more heavily on programs like 340B to offset the uncompensated care and support high-cost, complex services. Any disruption can create ripple effects across an entire health system, threatening access, workforce stability, and long-term investments in research and training. Leaders must prepare to advocate fiercely, and confront the challenges presented — while balancing innovation, compliance, and the mission to serve those who are most vulnerable.
Mike Wascovich, PharmD. Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer of Ascension (St. Louis): From a pharmacy perspective, it is critical that we focus on medication affordability and access. Ascension Pharmacies and our partners at the Dispensary of Hope are committed to delivering on our Mission to serve all persons with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. To continue ensuring our communities have access to the affordable medications they need, the industry should focus on streamlining the discovery and design processes to be more cost-effective. As improved manufacturing processes are driving down costs, the early phases of drug development also need to be optimized. This is a critical priority for our industry in 2025.
Christopher Mendez. Chief of Pharmacy Infusion at Providence (Renton, Wash.): The healthcare environment continues to face unprecedented challenges in reimbursement, labor vulnerability, supply chain shortages, national disasters, and political headwinds with funding. How will healthcare executives adapt processes, teams, and overall strategy to financially sustain the ability to serve communities.
Michael Eagon. Senior Pharmacy Manager of Ambulatory Pharmacy at University of Texas Medical Branch: I think a billion-dollar question is: how can we sustainably balance rising drug costs, access to high-cost therapies, and evolving reimbursement models, while maintaining clinical excellence and financial viability?
To address this challenge, leaders must stay nimble and adaptable, ready to pivot strategies in response to shifting payer models, regulatory updates, and market forces. A deep understanding of the everchanging healthcare landscape, from legislative reforms to specialty medication pipeline trends, it is essential to anticipate risks and seize opportunities. Most importantly, strengthening relationships across providers, payers, manufacturers, and internal teams will be key to building resilient, patient-centered models that thrive in a value-driven environment.
Nicole Shoquist. Chief Pharmacy Officer of JPS Health Network: The billion-dollar question facing executives in 2025 revolves around how to effectively integrate and leverage artificial intelligence while maintaining ethical standards and managing misinformation. As AI continues to evolve, executives must navigate the complexities of blending human intelligence with AI to unlock value creation for their organizations. This involves striking a balance between innovation and ethical considerations, ensuring data privacy and security, and fostering a culture that prioritizes both technological advancement and human-centric values. AI can offer new opportunities in the specialty pharmacy space, from streamlining operations and improving efficiencies to elevating patient care and outcomes.
Additionally, executives are challenged with reinvesting in the fundamentals — prioritizing their people and purpose amidst the temptation to chase new technological trends. This requires a clear focus on leadership, company culture, and strategic agility to stay ahead in a rapidly changing business landscape. AI can be part of driving value-based care and also helps hospital-owned specialty pharmacies target high-risk patients and make sure they’re receiving proactive, cost-effective interventions.
Finding partners that understand the rapidly advancing AI tools and leverage them to align to your strategy is important.
Our pharmacy partner, Maxor, recently published an AI blog series that summarizes the key ways AI can help hospital-owned specialty pharmacies drive innovation to achieve meaningful outcomes for the hospital and patients. Now, we’re rapidly looking for ways to incorporate the best of what AI has to offer into the JPS Specialty Pharmacy.
Amos Chery, FACHE, PharmD, MBA. Director of Pharmacy Operations and Regulatory Compliance at MedStar Washington Hospital Center: A pressing question for pharmacy executives is: what will the workforce structure look like in 5, 10, 15, and 20 years? The rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has sparked debate around data governance, privacy, and job displacement. While AI is transforming the landscape, certain skills – particularly those involving human interaction and empathy – remain irreplaceable in delivering exceptional patient experiences. The key now is to harness AI’s potential to streamline workflows, enhance accuracy, and drive efficiency.
