KU School of Pharmacy Campus Convention
Monte Overcast, Pharm.D., BCPS
February 21, 2015
Parallon (legally known as Parallon Business Solutions LLC) is a
leading provider of healthcare business and operational services.
Parallon partners with hospitals and healthcare systems to improve
their business performance and patient outcomes through proven
practices in revenue cycle; technology; workforce management and
consulting; as well as purchasing and supply chain management
through HealthTrust Purchasing Group, LP. Together with its
affiliates, Parallon employs more than 24,000 professionals
and serves more than 1,400 hospitals and 11,000 non-acute
care providers, including ambulatory surgery centers, physician
practices and alternate care sites. For more information, visit
parallon.com or follow @ParallonConnect.
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The Road Less Traveled
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Tommy Boy - 1995
“If at first
you don’t
succeed,
lower your
standards.”
Tommy: Did you hear I finally graduated?
Richard Hayden: Yeah, and just a shade under a
decade too. All right.
Tommy: You know a lot of people go to college for
seven years.
Richard Hayden: I know, they're called doctors.
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Path to Current Position
 University of Missouri – Columbia (Health profession path)
 University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Pharmacy
 PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency – University of Florida
 Clinical Pharmacist – Critical care focus
 BCPS Certification
 Clinical Coordinator
 Clinical Pharmacist – Internal medicine team coverage
 Clinical Pharmacist – Ambulatory care with PGY1/PGY2
 Current position – HCA MidAmerica Division Director of
Clinical Pharmacy Services
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A Day in the Life – Example Activities
 Group calls with DDCP group across the company
 Division level pain management performance improvement
committee
 Facility meeting with local clinical coordinator, clinical
pharmacists, and endocrinologist – conversion from SSI to
basal/bolus approach to improve glycemic control
 HCA group CFO and corporate pharmacy leadership WebEx
call
 Meeting with higher level division leadership (“Os” or “Csuite”) regarding possible creation of a new position
 Need expertise in specialized area – goal of improved quality of patient
care, treatment consistency, evidenced based approach, and outcomes
 Discussed justification, expected benefit of position addition, etc.
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A Day in the Life – Example Activities
 Drug class reviews
 Assigned two classes annually to be disseminated to all HCA hospitals
 Currently overhauling and creating a diabetes resource to include all
AHFS classes of antidiabetic agents
 Meetings with division DOPs and clinical coordinators
 Discuss clinical interventions, initiative progress, financials for division
and company, ISMP, literature/guideline updates, etc.
 Focus on current year targeted initiatives
 Meetings with division supply chain leadership (CEO)
 Wide focus but includes performance on initiatives, drug spend,
challenges, successes
 Initiative creation and development
 Examples, conversion to basal/bolus insulin for inpatient glycemic
management, improve appropriateness of parenteral nutrition, etc.
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Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages:
• Broad footprint across multiple
hospitals to impact patient care
• Flexibility (schedule, initiative driver)
• Multidisciplinary interaction at
multiple levels (corporate, division,
hospital)
• Day to day activities vary broadly
making for stimulating and ever
changing environment
• Minimal travel due to concentrated
Kansas City market for HCA
hospitals
• Clinical pharmacy thought leader all
the way to the corporate level
• Opportunity for teaching and
mentoring
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Disadvantages:
• Lack of direct patient care
interaction within hospital
• Initiative implementation due to
local hospital challenges &
obstacles
• Many interactions are remote
(calls, WebEx, etc.) and not faceto-face
• Maintaining consistency with
clinical pharmacy services across
the division hospitals
• Limited site visit time in each
facility due to division and
corporate responsibilities and
deadlines
Student Tips
 Residency training
 Consider board certification (BPS)
 Consider an MBA and/or HEOR (Health Economics and
Outcomes Research) training
 Focus on work/life balance while striving for professional
satisfaction and goal pursuit
 Have an open mind as opportunities present themselves
 Your career path may go directions you didn’t plan – enjoy the ride
 Be a trailblazer always looking for opportunities to improve:
 Clinical Pharmacy services
 Quality of care
 Patient safety
 Etc.
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Be a Pharmacy Trailblazer
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where
there is no path and leave a trail.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one
less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
- Robert Frost
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