Joelle Farano

To perform an inquiry with response measurement from health-system pharmacy administration and leadership (HSPAL) residency program directors and residents to distinguish variances between the programs and identify enhancement opportunities for key stakeholders. Members from the Pharmacy Administration Resident Collaboration Research Committee developed separate 20-question survey instruments to assess the strengths and areas of opportunity for HSPAL residency programs from the perspective of residency program directors and residents. The survey instruments were designed to evaluate the level of pharmacy service integration across HSPAL programs nationwide. Nearly half of the residency program directors within the listserv (40.74%, 33/81) participated in the survey. The recognized areas of opportunity by residency program directors include community pharmacy leadership, professional organization involvement, sterile compounding, and supply chain management. About a third (32.54%, 41/126) of the residents participated in the survey. Residents reported the least exposure to community pharmacy leadership, human resource management, informatics, professional organizations, and ambulatory care/specialty rotations. The overall recommendations for HSPAL residency programs are to incorporate C-suite–level experiences, improve alumni engagement, develop longitudinal human resource/financial experiences, and encourage resident credential obtainment. In order to foster professional and leadership growth for HSPAL residents, residency programs should consider incorporating C-suite–level experiences, longitudinal human resource/finance experiences, alumni engagement opportunities, rotation variety, professional organization involvement, and support in credential obtainment.

Advancements in technology and globalization have set the stage for mergers and acquisitions throughout various industries, including retail, financial services, and most recently, healthcare. The primary motivations for mergers and acquisitions for industries outside of healthcare include horizontal and vertical mergers to increase market shares, create new service lines, or enhance established services. Published literature on mergers and acquisitions from other industries can be used to predict the impact of health-system consolidations on pharmacy departments. This article serves to explore factors surrounding mergers and acquisitions as they relate to health-system pharmacy and provide commentary to guide institutions undergoing a consolidation.

BACKGROUND: Patients with cancer often face financial toxicity. They may face financial distress because of high out-of-pocket costs that in turn can result in delays in treatment, treatment abando...