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Talk to Your Pharmacist is a podcast for pharmacists, student pharmacists, and others across the country to hear from industry leaders about their leadership stories and current healthcare topics. The Talk to Your Pharmacist podcast was founded and hosted by pharmacist, Dr. Hillary Blackburn.
In this episode, Jenny Bingham joins us to discuss telepharmacy services. Dr. Jenny Bingham, PharmD, BCACP is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at SinfoniaRx. Throughout her career, she has launched several novel programs aimed to improve the quality of care for patients in a variety of settings. She manages a transition of care program that has led to: reduced readmission rates at 30-, 60-, and 90-days post-discharge; decreased Medicare beneficiary expenditures; and, a substantial return-on-investment. She also acts as the lead Telehealth Pharmacist for a rural based epilepsy clinic. She is committed to advancing the pharmacy profession through telehealth pharmacist-delivered mental health services, as seen by her involvement with multiple grant programs and readmission reduction services for serious mental illness patients. Dr. Bingham is also passionate about the advancement of pharmacists in the telehealth setting, as demonstrated by her role as the 2018-2019 Chair of the APhA Telehealth SIG, where she led her team to create one of the first continuing education series for Telehealth Pharmacists. She is the humble recipient of the 2017 Arizona Pharmacy Association’s Exemplary Patient Care Award, 2018 nominee for the American Pharmacists Association Foundation Career Achievement Pinnacle Award, as well as a finalist and winner for the 2019 Next-Generation Pharmacist® Technology Innovator Award. TALKING POINTS Role of telehealth pharmacy services and need for continued research dissemination Pharmacist ability to respond to national provider shortage crisis Ability for pharmacist to improve mental health and provide integrated behavioral health services via telehealth Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD www.pharmacyadvisory.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-blackburn-67a92421/ @talktoyourpharmacist for Instagram and Facebook @HillBlackburn Twitter
In this episode, Joe Muha who is the Corporate Counsel/Director of Pharmacy Compliance for Discount Drug Mart joins us. With over 30 years of retail experience with an unparalleled background in law, compliance, purchasing, negotiation, business development, and team building. He has extensive relationships with pharmaceutical executive leadership in the compliance, manufacturing, and sales spaces. With a Juris Doctor, Pharmacy Bachelor, and Masters of Business Administration degrees, coupled with a Master of Legal Letters degree in Intellectual Property Law, he is a formidable addition to any team. Joe is admitted to the Ohio Bar as a Corporate Counsel, a licensed attorney in Michigan and Federal District of Western Michigan, admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States Bar, and a pharmacist licensed in five states. Discussion points: - Joe's background - pharmacist, MBA, attorney, professor, etc. - complex regulatory issues - pharmacy profession where we’ve been and where we’re going Guest - Joe Muha, RPh, MBA, JD Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-muha-esq-rph-mba-llm-7126a81/ Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD www.pharmacyadvisory.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-blackburn-67a92421/ @talktoyourpharmacist for Instagram and Facebook @HillBlackburn Twitter
In this episode, we chat with Steve Huffines who served at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for a 40 year career culminating as the Director, Pharmacy Business Services. Steve played a significant role in growing Vanderbilt's Pharmacy Services from 25 FTEs to >500 today. Steve shares about his career trajectory at Vanderbilt which started as intern and he had opportunities as pharmacy team grew, etc. He also covers establishing service lines/programs at Vanderbilt. And how to grow and develop your pharmacy team and make them feel valued, through motivating your team and being a role model for them. Guest - Steve Huffines, RPh LinkedIn Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-huffines-84ab826/ Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD www.pharmacyadvisory.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-blackburn-67a92421/ @talktoyourpharmacist for Instagram and Facebook @HillBlackburn Twitter
In this episode, we have a special guest and announcement to share that the Talk to Your Pharmacist podcast has added our newest team member! Kristi Fritch is a 4th year student pharmacist at Belmont University College of Pharmacy in Nashville. Kristi has a number of skills, which is what caught my eye as I looked for an intern locally and made the choice to bring her on . Not only does she sing - which is pretty common in Nashville - but she also has great energy, passion, and pursues excellence as she has challenged herself by pursuing the combined PharmD/MBA degree. And we’re “essentially sisters” as we are both Chi Omegas. Kristi will be using these skills along with her expert marketing savvy to help grow the Talk to Your Pharmacist podcast. Student pharmacists are a great way to add capacity to your team, and they benefit from your experienced mentorship! Guest - Kristi Fritch, PharmD/MBA Candidate (@RxTakeHeart @MyFunctionalPharmacist) @RxTakeHeart www.rxtakeheart.com https://www.facebook.com/rxtakeheart/ https://www.instagram.com/rxtakeheart/ Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD www.pharmacyadvisory.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-blackburn-67a92421/ @talktoyourpharmacist for Instagram and Facebook @HillBlackburn Twitter
In this episode, Dr. Eric Christiansen covers several topics including: Podcasting How meded101 started/blogging How he got into creating test prep material Writing books Creating alternative sources of income Alternative work/opportunities possibility by creating content Future of pharmacy Work as LTC consultant or in physician's office Guest - Dr. Eric Christiansen, PharmD, BCGP, BCPS Consultant Pharmacist mededucation101@gmail.com Meded101.com - Clinical Pharmacy Education and Pharmacist Board Certification Help RealLifePharmacology.com - Real World Pharmacology Pearls Podcast LTCPharmD.com - Long Term Care Pharmacy Resources Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD www.pharmacyadvisory.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-blackburn-67a92421/ @talktoyourpharmacist for Instagram and Facebook @HillBlackburn Twitter
In this episode, we're talking about finances with financial advisor, Jessica Holte. Student loan debt is one of biggest things facing the millennial generations and is at all time high ~1.5 Trillion. Jessica shares insights about the following: -Student loans. Should you refinance, are you taking advantage of loan forgiveness but considering the debt leftover (taxation) -Taking advantage of work benefits. However, there may be pitfalls in the benefits offered (some pharmacists may start working for one company as an intern, do they continue to work there when they offer to pay off loans?, etc) -401k savings and other ways to save for retirement Whether you are a student pharmacist or later in your career, it is important to have a good understanding of your finances to set yourself and your future family up for success. Guest - Jessica Holte Website: http://jessicaholte.nm.com/Personal.htm Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD www.pharmacyadvisory.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-blackburn-67a92421/ @talktoyourpharmacist for Instagram and Facebook @HillBlackburn Twitter
In honor of October as American Pharmacists Month, this episode focuses on the importance of advocacy. Before your next advocacy day, listen to this episode to learn how you can be more effective in educating your elected officials. Our guest for this episode is Josh Archambault, who is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability, where he focuses on health care reforms that lower costs and expand choice for more Americans. Josh offers several examples of how to best communicate with staff and members, in addition to covering: - Truth about how legislative policy gets made Some general rules for how it really works - 3 Tips for dealing with legislators or their staff - 2 Tips to avoid with legislators Guest - Josh Archambault, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability LinkedIn Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/archambaultjosh/ Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD www.pharmacyadvisory.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-blackburn-67a92421/ @talktoyourpharmacist for Instagram and Facebook @HillBlackburn Twitter
Project management - pharmacists know how to do project management but here are a few additional tips and specifics about it to help you personally and professionally.
I have my student pharmacist on rotation with me, Dustin Chandler who’s a 4th year at Belmont to help me out with this one.
Project management is generally the way in which one person or team manages their resources in order to complete a project. These resources can be anything from time, money, personnel, or physical resources like materials needed to build houses.
Project management is can help people, teams, or organizations complete task effectively and efficiently. By this, I mean if one keeps track of your project, your progress, your goals, what you start with or end with; you can reduce the total cost by planning ahead and analyzing your current resources. As for time, being able to balance all of the projects that you have on your plate along with when they are due is crucial to having them done on time. Like a good chef, you would be able to work on multiple dishes at the same time to have them all come out hot, fresh, and ready for your customers.
· The five roles in PM - https://hbr.org/2016/11/five-critical-roles-in-project-management Written in a way that is intended for major projects. But still applies to more discrete projects such as my definition of the 7 items above.
One major thing you need to have is clear understanding of where you are and what your goals are. If you know where your current resources are allocated and where you need to spend them to accomplish your goals, then you can do better forward thinking. If you goals are clear, there will be less last minute adjustments as you try and get a better picture of what you want out of a project toward the end.
This leads to you needing realistic and achievable goals. One thing that I always heard is that your goals need to be SMART: Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely.
Another important aspect that you have to consider is that someone has to be taking stock in how well you are progressing. If you just continuously work on a project without taking a step back every now and then to make sure you or your team is on the right track, you could get to the end and realize you never hit your goal. But that’s not necessarily bad, you’ve gained experience working on this type of project and you’ve attained some value from this failure.
Sponsor: Person at the head of the project who helps get everything available to use. This person is usually the one who either has to approve, fund, or collect your budget/resources. They generally have SOMETHING to gain out of the project
Project manager: this individual (or individuals) is generally the head operator and reports to the sponsor. They can tell how much the budget is, what needs to be done, set timelines, goals, and milestones, along with many other tasks.
Team Leader: while most of the time the project manager takes on this role, this is not always the case. The team leader is the one who facilitates the other team members. Do they have complaints or problems? He listens to them and reports to the project manager. He also does work on the project as well, setting a good example for other members.
Team Members: these are the people who do most of the work on the project and with the project team. These members need to have some sort of skill or area they excel at that would help the project. Have someone who is really good at IT? Great for a project focused on technology, not so great for ones focused on manual labor. Generally skills are either technical, problem-solving based, interpersonal, or organizational. Each team generally needs a member who excels at atleast one of these skills to be balanced. Over the course of the project, you may find that you need to increase your skill balance by adding or subtracting members from your teams. For instance, if you have a team member who never communicates what they are doing, it might be a good idea to replace them with someone with better interpersonal skills.
A project is: a set of interrelated activities, usually involving a group of people who are working together toward a common goal over a period of time.
Getting everyone on a project team aligned behind the project’s objectives isn’t easy. How to surmount this challenge? Ask for help from team members who object to the project goal. Invite everyone’s input during project meetings. And explain the thinking behind your decisions.
- Gain trust
- Ask for help
- Listen to opinions of others
The Four Phases of PM - https://hbr.org/2016/11/the-four-phases-of-project-management . Very corporate and written in a way that is intended for major projects. E.G. building a reservoir and hydroelectric dam in Bolivia. But still applies to more discrete projects such as my definition of the 7 items above.
1. Planning: Set up what problem you are trying to solve, who needs to be involved, and what you want to have done. In this phase you are making estimates about time, resource, and monetary requirements. This is also the phase of a project that has the most fluidity. Nothing is set or is being set in stone yet. Think the scope of the project is to big? Separate it down to smaller ones or trim some of it down on the current one. Have budget concerns? Cut down in other areas to reduce the budget. The major factor in this phase is t...
In this episode, you'll hear from Tennessee's State Senator Shane Reeves. Senator Reeves has been a successful pharmacy business owner and was elected to serve in the state of TN’s senate in 2018. Don't miss this inspiring episode with a great pharmacy leader who now has the chance to make a big impact on the state's healthcare system. Senator Reeves will share about: - successes as a pharmacy owner - why he ran for office - TN healthcare - future of pharmacy LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanereeves68 https://www.reevesfortn.com/ Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD www.pharmacyadvisory.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-blackburn-67a92421/ @talktoyourpharmacist for Instagram and Facebook @HillBlackburn Twitter
In this episode, you'll hear from Sharzad Green, Pharm.D. who has continued to evolve her career from a retail pharmacist to providing private consultations for the following conditions: - Hormone imbalance-Peri-menopause, Menopause, Andropause, PMS, PCOS, Post-partum depression-using Bio-identical hormones - Adrenal fatigue syndrome - Sexual dysfunction She also serves as a consultant for several independent pharmacies to: - teach their staff and other providers about the above subjects - provide patient consultations for their patients - offer courses for pharmacists who are interested in learning about the above and starting their own business Guest - Sharzad Green, Pharm.D. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greenbalancerx/ www.fabuvag.com Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD www.pharmacyadvisory.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-blackburn-67a92421/ @talktoyourpharmacist for Instagram and Facebook @HillBlackburn Twitter
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