Becker’s asked pharmacy executives from hospitals and health systems, along with academic medical centers and universities across the U.S. to share the biggest shifts they’re seeing in patient expectation.
The 17 executives featured in this article are all speaking at Becker’s 3rd Annual Fall Chief Pharmacy Officer Summit, set for Nov. 4-6 at the Swissotel Chicago.
To learn more about this event, click here.
If you would like to join as a speaker or reviewer, please 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 are the biggest shifts you’re seeing in patient expectations and how is your organization evolving to meet them?
Nilesh Desai. Chief Pharmacy Officer of University of Miami Health System (Fla.): Patients want the best experiences no matter where they are getting cared for. So, the goal for us is to provide high-quality clinical care with transparency, efficiency, and empathy to be positioned for improved patient loyalty. From a health system pharmacy perspective this evolution means continuing to strengthen access, digital engagement, coordinated care, patient-centered service, and positive outcomes.
Kelley Curtis, PharmD. Chief Pharmacy Officer and Vice President of Pharmacy and Lab COE at St. Luke’s Health System-Idaho (Boise): I think one of the biggest shifts we’re seeing is that patients expect healthcare to be much easier than it has been. They don’t think about prior authorizations, specialty pharmacy, home delivery, or insurance requirements. They just expect that when their provider prescribes a medication, they can get it without unnecessary delays or confusion.
At St. Luke’s, that has challenged us to rethink the entire prescription journey. We’ve spent the past year bringing pharmacy closer to the point of care by integrating pharmacists into clinical workflows, using AI to reduce the administrative burden of prior authorizations, expanding our integrated specialty pharmacy and home delivery programs, and making it easier for patients to stay within one coordinated system. Every step has been focused on removing friction for both patients and providers.
I’ve come to believe that pharmacy has an opportunity to lead this transformation. The future isn’t about filling more prescriptions. It’s about making medication access feel like a seamless part of care instead of a separate process patients have to navigate on their own. When we get that right, everyone benefits. Patients start therapy sooner, providers spend less time on administrative work, and health systems deliver a better overall experience.
Eric Huckins, PharmD. Vice President of Business Development at Lumicera Health Services, SSM Health (St. Louis): Patients want clearer communication, a digital engagement option, and seamless experience across their provider, health plan and pharmacy interactions.
In specialty pharmacy, we’re seeing patients become more informed and engaged in their treatment decisions. They expect their care team to understand their unique circumstances and help them navigate increasingly complex therapies and rising drug costs.
Our organization is helping health system pharmacy programs evolve to meet these expectations by combining high touch clinical support with technology solutions to enhance the patient experience. We continue to focus on simplifying access to therapy, improving communication throughout the patient journey. Our goal is to create a more connected, personalized experience that helps patients start therapy faster, stay on treatment and achieve better outcomes.
Mike Wascovich, PharmD. Vice President of Medication Management and Chief Pharmacy Officer at Ascension Rx (St. Louis): Patients are increasingly looking for cost-effective access to medication closer to their homes. Ensuring medication access is a central component of Ascension’s growth strategy, supporting patients and providers across every care setting. Affordability remains one of the most significant barriers to care, and Ascension is addressing this through practical solutions and facilitating access to community resources when available.
Programs such as the Ascension Rx Prescription Assistance Card and resources offered through The Dispensary of Hope help uninsured and low-income patients access necessary medications. As traditional retail pharmacies are consolidating nationwide, Ascension is removing friction points and expanding access via our tech-enabled Home Delivery service to close care gaps. Providing cost-effective, convenient access to life-saving medication reflects our commitment to our mission.
Darren Evans, PharmD. Vice President of Operations and System Pharmacy Services at Phoebe Putney Health System (Albany, Ga.): Today’s patients expect more than exceptional clinical care; they expect an experience comparable to the service, convenience, and communication they receive from the best organizations in any industry. Community hospitals are no longer afforded the grace of “doing more with less”; patients hold us to the same standards as large academic medical centers, regardless of our size or resources. At Phoebe, we have embraced that challenge by making strategic investments in both the patient and employee experience. We are modernizing our facilities, enhancing care environments, expanding access through strategic partnerships, investing in advanced technologies, redesigning care processes, and creating programs that improve convenience and communication for our patients. Equally important, we recognize that an exceptional patient experience begins with an engaged and supported workforce. Through leadership development, employee engagement initiatives, workplace improvements, and investments that allow our teams to work more efficiently, we are creating an environment where employees can thrive. We believe that when our people feel valued, equipped, and connected to our mission, they deliver more compassionate, personalized, and reliable care. By investing in both our patients and our employees, Phoebe is building a culture that consistently delivers an exceptional healthcare experience while remaining committed to responsible financial stewardship and our mission of serving southwest Georgia.
Eric Guile. Regional Director of Pharmacy, Central Region-IL, KS, MO, TN, IA, WI at Encompass Health (Birmingham, Ala.): I think one of the largest shifts in patient expectation and experience is the desire for customization and communication. Through the advent of digital portals and retail experiences that expectation has crept into many facets of healthcare. In many respects, I think that adaptation is occurring successfully. The challenge with individualization is that it is an infinite task with finite resources. Assuming that purely digital means will meet the expectations of care is a dangerous path. As an organization, we continue to strive to find ways to keep the human connection and meet those needs proactively. Understanding the patient’s needs before they arise based on past patient experiences is the way that we can demonstrate caring and empathy and build a positive patient experience. Learning the patient’s information needs and communication preferences early in their care, pays dividends in curating the overall patient experience. Utilizing patient experience survey data allows us to better understand where we need to build proactive strategies for our patient’s care needs.
Boniface S. Fogwe, PharmD. Director of Pharmacy at St. Joseph and St. Mary Medical Center (Kansas City, Mo.):
- Cost: Transparency in billing of services received.
- Service: Service that is above the basic care patients receive; the bare minimum is no longer acceptable. Patients want to know that we care and that they are not just another patient. Quality of care ratings is a huge part of what insurance uses to determine where patients go. Patients have options and can go to a lot of other places for their care since they have a lot of access to what they can get. Leaders and front-line staff must round on patients daily to make sure their unspoken needs are met.
- Quality: Insurance drives where patients go- As hospitals, we have very limited control over how this plays out. The only thing we can do is provide the best care and service possible to achieve better ratings to be an option for patients.
- Safety: Patients want to feel safe; they want to be involved and be part of the team.
A lot of the solutions to the needs above require our leaders and most importantly front line staff to be able resolve, address, listen, and redirect patients to resources they need to get their questions answered while they are in the hospital.
Tommy Lupton, PharmD. Director of Pharmacy Business Operations at John Muir Health System (Walnut Creek, Calif.): From where I sit on the business/finance side of pharmacy, the biggest shift is that affordability and speed have moved from background concerns to the first thing patients ask about, especially in specialty and oncology. Patients want to know their real cost before they start, and they don’t accept long prior authorization delays anymore. So pharmacy is stepping up to own this end to end — driving the financial navigation and benefits work, deploying automation to compress prior-auth turnaround, and bringing specialty and infusion care in-house so we control the process, improve efficiency, and keep the patient’s pharmacy team as an essential part of their care team rather than a separate handoff.
Quan Tran. Pharmacy Director of One Community Health (Sacramento, Cali.): Healthcare delivery is evolving beyond the traditional model of receiving care in a provider’s office. Increasingly, patients expect care to be available wherever they are. At One Community Health, we have expanded access through telehealth, beginning with primary care and now extending to clinical pharmacy services.
In 2025, we launched our Street Medicine program, bringing healthcare directly to vulnerable patients in the Sacramento community. These services go beyond primary care and include psychiatry, medication-assisted treatment, prescription pickup assistance, and insurance eligibility support.
Our in-house pharmacy contributes to improving access by providing free prescription delivery and comprehensive medication reviews by phone. Together, these services help reduce barriers to care, improve convenience for patients, and allow care teams to focus on in-person appointments for patients with more urgent or complex needs.
Fatimah Muhammad. Director of 340B Pharmaceutical Services, Specialty Pharmacy, Drug Replacement, and ADM Pharmaceutical Services at Saint Peter’s University Hospital (New Brunswick, N.J.): Patients today expect more than access to medications. They expect a healthcare experience that is connected, personalized, affordable, and convenient. They want timely access to therapy, clear communication, digital engagement, and confidence that every member of their care team is working together to achieve the best possible outcome. At the same time, health systems are navigating unprecedented financial pressures, reimbursement uncertainty, rising drug costs, workforce challenges, and an increasingly complex regulatory environment. These realities require pharmacy leaders to think differently about how we create value for both patients and the organization.
The organizations that will lead the future are embedding pharmacy into enterprise strategy rather than viewing it as a standalone service. That means leveraging data and predictive analytics to proactively identify barriers to care, integrating specialty and ambulatory pharmacy services more closely with clinical teams, streamlining access to therapy, and using technology to create a more seamless patient experience. Success will be defined by our ability to improve clinical outcomes while strengthening operational and financial performance. The future of pharmacy is not simply about dispensing medications. It is about serving as a strategic partner that advances patient access, drives innovation, and helps ensure the long-term sustainability of our health systems. The organizations that thrive will be those that recognize an exceptional patient experience and financial stewardship are not competing priorities, they are inseparable.
Jason D. Trahan, MBA. Executive Director of Pharmacy Business at ECU Health (Greenville, N.C.): Across the ECU Health system, one of the largest shifts we’re seeing throughout the region is that our patients, and patients across the country, are increasingly expecting healthcare to operate in alignment similar to the other customer service industries they interact with as part of their daily lives.
Patients don’t just want, but they are demanding convenient, transparent healthcare, and they expect fewer barriers to care teams, faster access to medications and services, clear visibility into costs, and a seamless experience across the entire continuum of care.
Throughout ECU Health, and in the pharmacy business specifically, we’re responding to these demands through a systemized approach by investing in digital capabilities, the development of a centralized pharmacy service center, and the implementation of technologies that improve workflows, increase our internal capabilities, and reduce friction, particularly opportunities that are optimized for the rural communities we serve.
We’re also redesigning how pharmacy and ambulatory services support the patient journey, with a greater focus on proactive outreach, medication access, 340b eligibility, home infusion, and personalized medication education and support.
Ultimately, the goal is to make our healthcare system easier to navigate while improving quality, affordability, and patient outcomes. The organizations that will succeed moving forward are those that can combine excellence in care with patient demanded convenience and reliability, and our vision is to become the national model for rural health and wellness.
Siggi Raizada, PharmD. Director of Pharmacy at Community Health Systems (Franklin, Tenn.): One of the biggest shifts I’m seeing is that patients no longer judge their healthcare experience solely by clinical outcomes. They expect convenience, transparency, and to be active participants in their care. They want to understand their medications, know why changes were made, and leave the hospital feeling confident about managing their health at home.
As a pharmacy leader, I believe we have a tremendous opportunity to influence that experience. At our organization, we have intentionally made pharmacy more visible and integrated throughout the patient’s journey instead of functioning behind the scenes. We have expanded pharmacist participation in multidisciplinary rounds, strengthened our antimicrobial stewardship efforts, and implemented pharmacy technician-led home medication reconciliation so we begin with the most accurate medication history possible. That allows our pharmacists to focus on resolving discrepancies, optimizing therapy, and preventing medication-related problems before they reach the patient.
We are also advancing toward Leapfrog’s Gold Standard for medication management by providing comprehensive discharge medication counseling. Before patients leave, our pharmacists review every medication change, explain why medications were started, stopped, or adjusted, discuss side effects and adherence strategies, and use teach-back to ensure patients truly understand their treatment plan.
For me, this is personal because I’ve seen firsthand how just a few extra minutes spent reconciling medications on admission or counseling a patient before discharge can prevent serious medication errors, reduce anxiety, and give patients confidence as they transition home. Those conversations often become the difference between a patient simply receiving care and a patient truly feeling cared for.
We have also seen the impact reflected in our patient satisfaction scores. When patients understand their medications and feel supported during the transition home, their confidence in the care team increases. We have seen improvements in patient satisfaction related to communication, discharge readiness, and the overall hospital experience. It reinforces that pharmacy isn’t just improving medication safety, we are helping shape how patients experience their care.
Ultimately, I believe the future of pharmacy is about more than dispensing medications. It’s about ensuring every medication decision is accurate, understood, and supports a safer, more connected, and more patient-centered healthcare experience.
Nicole Copley, PharmD. Director of Pharmacy at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Institute of Libertyville (Birmingham, Ala.): I believe there has always been a need for better communication and understanding. Patient’s access to information has allowed them the opportunity to ask more questions and truly advocate for the best care possible. With that comes a change in how information is shared & how communication is provided. There’s a larger shift in family requests for communication & information as well. We advocate strongly to have multiple avenues to provide communication, hear patient concerns & respond to those concerns in a timely, and effective manner. We don’t always get it right, but we definitely are more aware of the need for that & do our due diligence to meet those needs.
John Mildenberger, PharmD. Specialty Pharmacy Manager, Senior Clinical Lead Pharmacist and Compliance Officer at Sidney Regional Medical Center (Neb.): The largest shift we have seen over the past couple of years is that patient expectations are increasingly going unmet by the broader pharmacy and healthcare marketplace. Patients often arrive at our pharmacies and are surprised to receive the kind of care they always believed they should get but rarely had. Our organization has leaned into closing that gap. For SRMC, a few extra moments spent on patient care has not only elevated the quality of what we deliver; it has elevated the patient experience to where it should have been all along.
Faisal Sahawneh, PharmD. Regional Manager of Pharmacy Infusion Services at Loyola University Medical Center (Maywood, Ill.): Among the biggest shifts I see with patient expectations in the outpatient infusion setting is how their care (and its provision) fits into their daily life. Healthcare access has thankfully gotten to a place now where many health systems operate satellite or offsite facilities. This means that patients can receive high-quality care closer to their homes, their work, and even within their homes (with the expansion of specialty home infusion services). Pharmacy enterprises are thus more than ever uniquely positioned to work alongside insurers and benefit managers to expand their services and help patients more conveniently access the care they need.
Alfred L’Altrelli, PharmD. Chief Pharmacy Officer of Memorial Medical Center (Las Cruces, N.M.): The biggest shift we’re seeing is that patients increasingly expect healthcare to be personalized, transparent, and easy to navigate. As we see this particularly when it comes to medications, these are often among the most complex aspects of their care and are pushing us to reconsider goals and priorities of our pharmacy team members. Patients want to understand why medications are being prescribed, what outcomes to expect, and how medications fit into their overall treatment plan. At Memorial Medical Center, we’re evolving to meet these expectations by strengthening clinical pharmacy services, enhancing medication management programs, and integrating pharmacists more closely into interdisciplinary care teams. We’re leveraging technology and data-driven decision support to improve medication safety, optimize therapeutic outcomes, and reduce barriers to care. We are also expanding patient education efforts to help individuals make informed decisions and improve adherence to treatment plans. As patient expectations continue to evolve, so will our pharmacy team members as we focus our on delivering patient-centered pharmacy care that improves outcomes, enhances safety, and creates a more seamless healthcare experience.
David L. Crosby, PharmD. System Director of Infusion Pharmacy at Dartmouth Health (Lebanon, N.H.): I think the biggest evolution we have seen in patient expectations relates to more convenient treatment options and locations for infusions. The capacity within our hospital-based infusion locations has been constrained secondary to increased demand and a robust pipeline of specialty medications. As an organization, we have invested in additional infusion chairs across our health network and supported the opening of an ambulatory suite. We will continue to evaluate additional site-of-care offerings that align with our goals to provide patient-centric care and remain competitive with payer networks.
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