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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, our guest is Dr. Jonathan Baktari, a CEO, a vaccine expert, and a physician with specialties in internal, pulmonary, and critical care medicine. With that background, Dr. Bakari has launched multiple innovative startups that leverage technology that expands and disrupts traditional markets, also focusing on growing a corporate
culture that empowers the leadership and staff to innovate.
Dr. Jonathan Baktari, MD is the CEO at both e7 Health and US Drug Test Centers and the host of Baktari MD. e7 health is a preventative health and wellness company that has been called the “the Uber of preventive medicine” and was named the Best Technology Company in the Healthcare Space in 2019. A former, triple board-certified physician with specialties in internal medicine, pulmonary and critical care medicine, being a healthcare CEO is only the latest chapter in Dr. Baktari’s life mission to help others by making integrative preventative medicine available to Everyone. He and his team at e7 Health specialize in preventative medicine, vaccinations, and testing for viruses.
Dr. Baktari, welcome to the Talk to Your Pharmacist podcast. Now that our listeners have heard a bit about your background, maybe you can fill any gaps from that intro or share a bit more about your personal life.
Interview topics
• Roadblocks to accelerating growth of a company
• Top 5 underrated CEO skills that everyone needs to have
• Navigating relationships with partners, vendors, suppliers, etc
• 5 keys to successful negotiating strategies
• How to focus on customer and employee relationships as the key to accelerating
growth
• How to create a thriving, productive culture for employees
• Reinvesting: putting resources back into your own business
• The importance of communication in employee management
• By the bootstraps: How to create an organization entirely on your own
• 7 Entrepreneur Skills You Need to Elevate Your Business
Guest - Jonathan Baktari, MD
baktarimd@e7health.com
jonathanbaktarimd.com
+1 702-825-2012
Linkedin: in/jonathan-baktarimd
Podcast: baktarimdshow
YouTube: /baktarimd
Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, MBA
Talk to Your Pharmacist was featured as a Top 20 Pharmacy Podcasts by Feedspot https://blog.feedspot.com/pharmacist_podcasts/
In this episode, our guest is Brooke Griffin, PharmD, BCACP is a Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Vice Chair of Clinical Services at Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove. With over 20 years of experience in various ambulatory care clinics, she has worked on several multidisciplinary teams and precepted hundreds of students and residents. At the college she serves as a coach and mentor to several faculty and teaches part of the women’s health and professional development curriculum. She is a Professional Coach in Life & Work and is passionate about offering career support through a thought-provoking and creative process. She speaks nationally on various professional development topics, including the importance of coaching and mentoring, time management, and work/life integration. She started blogging for Pharmacist Moms in 2018 and one of her most read blogs was “Find Your Skinny Black Microphone: Advocacy for Pharmacy and Moms.” In 2019 she launched her own website and blog, 21st Century PharmD, which offers personal and professional development for pharmacists and students. In 2022 she launched Bold Idea Group with a mission to inspire bold ideas from within. She is on this self-development journey alongside all of you and believes “every pharmacist deserves a coach.”
3 points:
-Career support comes in many forms
- Why you need more than a mentor
- Why every pharmacist deserves a coach
- Self-awareness is not just a buzzword
-We have more power/agency in our careers than we think
Guest - Brooke Griffin, PharmD, BCACP
-LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/brookegriffinpharmd/
-Website www.boldideagroup.com
Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, MBA
Check out Hillary's maternal health work on www.rx4mom.com and follow @Rx_4_Mom
★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★In this episode, our guest is Alex Barker with the HappyPharmD helps pharmacists create fulfilling careers and lives. For a time, he was a burned-out clinical pharmacy specialist. Now, he is the founder and head coach at TheHappyPharmD.com where alongside his team, he creates classes to help over 400 pharmacists find and create new career paths.
We published the book Indispensable: The Prescription for a Fulfilling Pharmacy Career. His goal is to help 500 pharmacists transition into new jobs by January 1st, 2020.
Alex Barker, helps pharmacists create fulfilling careers and lives. For a time, he was a burned-out clinical pharmacy specialist. Now, he is the founder and head coach at TheHappyPharmD.com where alongside his team, he creates classes to help over 400 pharmacists find and create new career paths.
We recently published the book Indispensable: The Prescription for a Fulfilling Pharmacy Career. When he’s not working with pharmacists, he spends time with his wife, Megan, and two lovely girls, Izzie and Addie.
To get a free copy of his book Indispensible, visit www.FreeRxbook.com
Dr. Alex Barker is the CEO and Founder of The Happy Pharm D, a nationwide coaching firm guiding pharmacists to inspiring careers and more fulfilling lives. Alex is an accomplished public speaker, a published author and teacher. Since 2017, his coaching program and career development seminars have guided over 2,000 pharmacists into new jobs and roles they love. His book Indispensable: A prescription for a fulfilling pharmacy career, has motivated countless pharmacists to love pharmacy again. Alex is a husband and the proud father of two daughters. He loves drinking coffee and eating good guacamole (though not at the same time). When he isn’t working, which happens occasionally, he plays Nintendo, Dungeon & Dragons, and reads comics.
Guest - Alex Barker, Pharm.D.
Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD
In this episode, our guest Jennifer Krippner is a healthcare leader, passionate about relationships and obsessed with humanizing the experience for leaders, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and patients/families.
She is the Chief Experience Officer at the Institute for Healthcare Excellence and has helped transform over 70 organizations around the world since joining the IHE team in 2016.
As a former healthcare system executive, she has been able to create and build a culture of excellence, define and lead with connection and heart, and create efficiency and quality processes that improve the experience for all.
Jennifer is a recognized expert in the field of patient experience and human-centered care. She has over 25 years of experience in strategic planning, patient experience, physician development, and employee/community engagement. Jennifer is most passionate about building and nurturing connections and relationships.
Prior to her lead role at The Institute for Healthcare Excellence, Jennifer was the director of physician development and guest/public relations at Maple Grove Hospital in Minnesota. While there, she led staff-driven patient experience advisory teams and developed projects that directly contributed to consistent top-tier performance in key patient and staff satisfaction
results.
Topics to discuss --
Guest - Jennifer Krippner
Chief Experience Officer
The Institute for Healthcare Excellence
Project Leader
National Taskforce for Humanity in Healthcare
612-741-8016
jkrippner@iheteam.org
Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, MBA
In this episode, our guest is Jerry Fu, a pharmacist and leadership coach. Getting fired was the wakeup call he needed to realize the urgency of improving himself as a leader. Once he helped facilitate a national Leader Development Seminar with PLEI in 2012, he grew confident enough in his leadership abilities to become a Pharmacist in Charge. That decision saved his career. His leadership experience opened up work opportunities he wouldn’t otherwise have been considered for. He has since founded Adapting Leaders, LLC to help others in the same way friends helped him, becoming certified through the International Coaching Federation. He now offers one-on-one coaching and group workshops, covering topics such as fighting apathy and leading without titles. He has coached leaders in Phi Lambda Sigma, Phi Delta Chi, and Boehringer-Ingelheim.
Topics to discuss --
Guest - Jerry Fu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerry-e-fu-pharmd-acc-53710187/
website: www.adaptingleaders.com
Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, MBA
In this episode, our guest is Dr. Patrick Carroll, a member of the Hims & Hers board and is Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Carroll oversees all matters pertaining to provision of care, clinical outcomes, patient safety, healthcare information systems and strategic initiatives and programs to enhance the Hims & Hers care model. In addition, Dr. Carroll is instrumental in managing relationships with health systems and collaborating with the executive team in the development of new clinical programs.
Prior to joining Hims & Hers in June of 2019 Dr. Carroll was the Group Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Walgreens. Over his 5 year tenure he oversaw retail clinics, healthcare strategy, health system collaborations, quality programs as well as the development of the Walgreens Neighborhood Health Destination initiative. Prior to joining Walgreen’s in May 2014, Dr. Carroll served as the Chief Medical Officer of Integrated Care Partners, Hartford HealthCare’s clinical integration organization. He was also the Medical Director for Hartford HealthCare’s Medicare Shared Savings Program which currently has over 20,000 patients in a Medicare/CMS shared-risk pilot program. He played a key role in leading the Hartford HealthCare’s efforts in the transition to value-based care in a time of a rapidly changing healthcare landscape.
From 2010–2012, Dr. Carroll served as the Chief Medical Officer for the Granite Medical Group in Quincy, Massachusetts. Granite Medical Group is a 40-provider Multi-specialty/Primary Care Group which is part of Atrius Health, a 1000 Medical Provider Group. Dr. Carroll received his bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross and his medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School. He completed his residency training at Middlesex Hospital in family practice, where he served as Chief Resident.
Dr. Carroll is Board Certified in Family Practice and in Adolescent Medicine.
Topics to discuss --
Guest - Dr. Patrick Carroll is a member of the Hims & Hers board and is Chief Medical Officer
Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, MBA
In this episode, our guest is David Vulcano who is a well-known thought leader and change agent in the clinical research industry through
numerous associations, boards, initiatives, publications, presentations and contributions. A native of New Orleans, he has a Master’s degree in both Social Work and Business Administration and holds the additional status of Certified IRB Professional (CIP), Regulatory Affairs Certification (RAC) and Certified Blockchain Professional. Among other things he is the a Vice President and Responsible Executive for Clinical Research for HCA Healthcare, providing research-related compliance and strategy consultation to their portfolio of hospitals, physician
practices and healthcare technology companies. He is also the President of the Nashville Angel Capital Group. David and his wife are empty-nesters living south of Nashville, Tennessee with where they involve themselves in work, family life as well as other charitable and
entrepreneurial opportunities.
Topics to discuss --
Guest - David Vulcano
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidvulcano/
President, Music City Angels (powered by the Sheltowee Network)
Board President, (Grammy Nominated) ALIAS Chamber Ensemble
Board Member, Mission Honduras
Independent Board Member, Downey Ridge Environmental (a.k.a. Greasezilla)
Member, Paranormal Investigation Committee for the Society of American Magicians
HCA Healthcare
Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, MBA
In this episode, we invited back Dr. Blair Thielemier who is a Top 5 Most Influential Pharmacist, Entrepreneur, Business Development Consultant, and Founder of PharmapreneurAcademy.com
Topics to discuss --
Guest - Blair Thielemier, PharmD
Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, MBA
In this episode, our guest is Matt McBride, the CEO and Co-Founder of Mend — an enterprise-grade patient engagement and telehealth platform designed to help healthcare organizations. At Mend, Matt is focused on using the power of telemedicine, A.I. reminders, digital forms, and more to make it easier for patients and providers to communicate. With deep experience in healthcare tech companies – including OneOncology and Varian Medical Systems – Matt understands how medical offices work and how providers can leverage technology to reduce administrative burden, spend more quality time with patients and operate more efficiently.
Topics to discuss --
Guest - Matt McBride
E-mail: matt@mendfamily.com
Phone: 7347481079
Website:mend.com
LinkedIn link:https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewmcbride
Facebook link:https://www.facebook.com/mendfamily/?ref=pages_you_manage
Twitter: @mendfamily
Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, MBA
In this episode, our guest isJoseph (Joey) Dizenhouse is Senior Vice President and Head of Pharmacy Services for HealthTrust Performance Group. He is responsible for the Pharmacy Services Group, which represents over $14 billion in annual pharmaceutical purchases across classes of trade and delivers innovative strategies across contracting, clinical, operational efficiency and supply management disciplines. The Pharmacy Services Groups also operates the largest sole sourced PBM collective in the country. Dizenhouse joined HealthTrust in 2016 after serving the organization as an outside consultant for more than a decade. Prior to HealthTrust, he spent 20 years working for a leading professional services advisory firm in a number of leadership roles and serving several Fortune 100 organizations and large health systems. Mr. Dizenhouse is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and is licensed in Life/Health
Insurance across all 50 states. He is a frequent speaker on subjects related to pharmacy insurance and benefits strategies, insurance exchanges as well as the general U.S. healthcare landscape.
Interview topics
• What do HR buyers need to look for in a PBM contract?
• What types of questions do HR or Total Rewards VP’s need to ask their PBM broker about their current deal?
• How can I push my PBM to do more or offer bigger discounts?
• Can you explain how pharmacy rebates work?
• What’s the craziest pharmaceutical pricing story you can tell us?
• How does a good PBM program reduce costs to employers and employees?
• What innovations do you see coming in the Pharmacy and Pharmacy Benefits
space?
Guest - Joey Dizenhouse, Senior Vice President and Head of Pharmacy Services for HealthTrust Performance Group
Host - Hillary Blackburn, PharmD, MBA
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