ASK AN ALUMNUS
William T. Lee, BS ’72, MPA, FASCP Senior Director Pharmacy System Innovations, Carilion Clinic Healthcare System / President, Koala Healthcare, LLC As the senior director of pharmacy system innovations for a 1,200-bed healthcare system, I am responsible for managing seven hospitals, the largest an 800-bed facility with trauma level one designation, covering a catch basin of 28 counties with over 1.2 million patients. Our healthcare system is one of the pioneer ACO models and oversees more than 230 physician practices and over 50 level three medical homes. My professional life as a pharmacist has centered on creating opportunities to allow the pharmacist to make a difference in improving patients with chronic diseases. I have owned and operated pharmacies servicing managed long-term care, assisted, and mental health facilities. I have served in various healthcare industry capacities with over 30 years in the pharmaceutical and healthcare field. My background has included experience in the development of wireless and mobile documentation tools for improving the clinical monitoring activities of pharmacists in an institutional environment and on an ambulatory retail basis. My broad experience in the managed care sector and group purchasing organizations includes the acute care hospital setting and the ambulatory and private sector. In the wholesale pharmaceutical industry, this experience has provided me the benefit of understanding the different channels for the marketing and distribution of medications and other related healthcare products within the United States and on an international level.
As a pharmacist, how can I best prepare to adapt to the inevitable changes ahead in the next 20 years? Embrace technology and the opportunity to increase the patient experience and to be able to use remote technology as a means of getting unbiased, direct patient feedback in real-time. Begin to be more involved beyond your area of practice and expertise; pharmacists must be involved in all aspects of the transitional care model in order to meet the needs of the patient and the continuum of care. To be truly clinical, the care of the patient may begin in the emergency room, but the pharmacist must be able to follow up on the patient as the patient continues their treatment beyond the four walls of the hospital into the community and back into their home. There is a need to develop a deeper relationship with the patient in order to establish a true
38
T H E P H A R M A C I ST
P H A R M A C Y.U I C . E D U
covenant relationship similar to what the independent community pharmacist has created over the years with many of their patients. Pharmacy is at the most opportune time in our profession because of the unfortunate COVID-19 situation. We need to act as one profession with one voice as a whole to move the profession forward. As a piece of advice, pharmacists need to be involved with their professional associations at the local, regional, or national levels. They need to stay informed and be on top of the latest developments and issues that affect their profession. What are you working on right now, and what have you learned from it? One of my many interests is continuing my efforts to advance the opportunities for pharmacists in the area of what remote technology can do for us as a profession. The ability to have patients give us direct feedback in real-time on their medication therapies
