The importance of operational fitness, organizing for growth, supporting changing care models, and addressing patient access challenges in the healthcare industry were outlined by Jeff Reichard, PharmD, executive director of pharmacy operations at UNC Health at Becker's 14th Annual Meeting held in Chicago.
Dr. Reichard, whose session focused on "amplifying your growth strategy" spoke about the importance of centralized service facilities in managing expenses and enhancing operational efficiency. Dr. Reichard also shared UNC Health's journey in building its first and second-generation facilities, emphasizing the importance of stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, and dedicated leadership in the process.
He also discussed how pharmacy can support changing care models and improve patient access, using examples from UNC Health's experiences.
Key takeaways shared by Dr. Reichard:
1. Operational fitness is crucial for growth in the pharmacy industry.
"We've got to maintain good operational fitness in terms of our cost management, our understanding, our overhead, and how we manage that."
2. Organizing stakeholders and keeping them engaged is essential for successful growth strategies.
"How do you keep these folks engaged? How do you organize them to stay engaged and how do you utilize them to drive what you need?"
3. Pharmacy can support changing care models and improve patient access.
"As we do big things, we have got to stay organized, keep stakeholders engaged ... there's opportunities to advance pharmacy."
4. Centralized service facilities (CSCs) can provide value in terms of cost management, inventory optimization, and drug shortage management.
"Some of the value in CSCs is related to cost of goods, managing your inventory shrinkage, optimizing drug shortages."