Madeline Camejo, PharmD, vice president and chief pharmacy officer at Baptist Health South Florida, and Michael Wascovich, PharmD, vice president and chief pharmacy officer at Ascension, shared with Becker’s their investment strategies and priorities for the next year and beyond.
Harnessing AI and analytics for improved operations
AI and analytics are becoming essential tools for health systems to optimize pharmacy operations and improve efficiency. Dr. Camejo said Baptist Health South Florida is looking to invest more in AI in the coming year and use the tool to anticipate key market trends in the industry.
“I think one of the things we really want to concentrate on our AI and analytics is really, how do we get business reporting and information quickly so that we can pivot and anticipate things that may be happening in the market,” she said.
Dr. Wascovich shared how Ascension is using AI tools and analytics to help improve decision-making and ensure optimal patient care that “starts at the patient bedside.”
“We integrate supporting processes into the electronic records and use clinical decision support to help us provide optimal care. We also use machine learning, AI tools and other innovative technologies to improve and better understand the opportunities,” he said.
Expanding access through centralized delivery models
As health systems work to improve access to medications, centralization and home delivery have also become a key investment for both Baptist Health South Florida and Ascension.
Dr. Camejo shared that she is working on developing a pharmacy hub focused on improving medication access, especially for infusion centers that face challenges with co-pays and authorizations. The hub will include a dedicated call center where pharmacists can handle order intake, assist in prior authorizations and coordinate the patient scheduling for the infusion centers.
On the other hand, Dr. Wascovich pointed to home delivery as a way Ascension plans to close accessibility gaps for medications and to have patients have prescriptions delivered directly to their homes.
“We are proud to now have two Home Delivery pharmacies, one in Detroit, Michigan and one in Austin, Texas,” he said. ” We are going to continue to focus on investing in ways to ensure people can easily afford and access their medications.”
Tackling industry-wide challenges
As the healthcare landscape continues to shift, pharmacy leaders are addressing broader challenges, especially with drug shortages and medication affordability.
One of the largest ongoing challenges, Dr. Camejo explained the uncertainty surrounding the 340B program and how this can have widespread consequences for patient access and hospital budgets.
“One of the biggest issues is going to be 340B, where the 340B program is going to land. How is it going to resolve? There’s a lot of uncertainty in that space, and it helps to reduce costs tremendously for many hospitals in the country, especially in some of the rural areas and other places that need that 340B program in order to be able to provide services to many of our underserved and our indigent care,” she said.
In the coming year, Dr. Wascovich underscored the urgency to improve medication affordability for crucial medicines.
“The problem now is medication affordability because all of these therapies are very expensive. The industry has to prioritize making these life-saving therapies more accessible,” Dr. Wascovich said. “I believe we can solve this by working together. This will take commitment from all stakeholders; providers, manufacturers, insurance companies and health plans, as well as patients.”
