After a year that has brought unprecedented change to all facets of the U.S. healthcare system, hospital pharmacy leaders will be challenged to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. Three chief pharmacy officers recently spoke with Becker's Hospital Review about their top priorities for the upcoming year:
Editor's note: Answers were edited lightly for length and clarity.
Tim Lynch, PharmD, system vice president of clinical support services & chief pharmacy officer, MultiCare Health System (Tacoma, Wash.): The key focus right now and for the next few months will be providing COVID-19 vaccinations to our employees, affiliated staff and patients. This is a pivotal moment in healthcare and a way we can best serve our communities. This will be a marathon effort that will require clear focus and coordination. In addition to combating the pandemic, we will remain focused on areas that provide value to our health system. Expansion of pharmacy services through specialty pharmacy, home health, alternative sites of care and retail services represent a tremendous opportunity to improve the quality of care we provide our patients as well as supporting the way we serve our communities. These efforts are of the utmost importance as we recover from the effects of COVID-19.
Kuldip Patel, PharmD, interim chief pharmacy officer, Duke University Hospital (Durham, N.C.): The biggest priority for 2021 for us will be to effectively and efficiently manage the COVID-19 recovery phase. While it is early, we saw a glimmer of hope as we began to vaccinate our employees. Part of recovery also means to ensure that our organization continues to focus on quality of care and recover from the financial impact of COVID-19. We are actively developing and implementing strategies that help us reduce healthcare costs while implementing plans that help us deliver the highest quality of care.
Gary Kerr, PharmD, chief pharmacy officer, Baystate Health (Springfield, Mass.): Pharmacy leaders will be charged with multiple high priority tasks relating to the pandemic recovery, and the center of that work will be the logistics surrounding the purchase, storage, distribution and prioritized administration of the vaccines throughout the calendar year (and beyond). Integrating and sustaining nonpandemic, normal, everyday work and projects will be a substantial challenge, as will the fiscal stewardship of such.