Pharmacy Careers

Sam’s Club senior vice president and GMM of consumable and health and wellness will be retiring at the end of the fiscal year, a Sam’s Club spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. Turner-Mitchael is a 26-year veteran of the company, having joined Walmart in 1992 as a pharmacist in Lubbock, Texas.

There is no shortage of hurdles when it comes to achieving patient-facing care. Here are some key challenges and how the industry is trying to address them.

Long wait times: The biggest reason for dissatisfaction with a pharmacy is long wait times, said Oscar Cateriano, director of dispensing U.S. Retail, at BD.

Pharmacists still are waiting for the handcuffs to come off. That’s the consensus of industry leaders who are frustrated with the challenges of getting reimbursements for a wider range of services these professionals can perform. It’s a topic at the center of enabling patient care in community-based pharmacy.

“We talk about pharmacists being able to practice at the top of their license,” said CVS Health executive vice president of retail pharmacy and supply chain Kevin Hourican.

It has been announced by Benzer Pharmacy, that the Tampa- Fla.-based chain will be addressing the demand for clinical solutions to supervise overprescribing patients. The company will be tackling this issue by providing medication therapy management, or MTM, to its customers.

“Medication therapy management is a patient-centric approach to bridge the gap between pharmacists and patients. By providing increased access to pharmacists, patients are able to take on a more active role in their wellness journey,” Alpesh Patel, president of Benzer Pharmacy, said.

Diplomat Pharmacy has announced that co-founder, CEO and chairman Phil Hagerman is retiring. The Flint, Mich.-based company has named board member Jeff Park as interim CEO, effective immediately. Hagerman will continue as a member of the board and become chairman emeritus, with Ben Wolin taking over as chairman, effective immediately.

McKesson mainstay Chris Dimos has been promoted to president retail solutions for McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical and Specialty Health, where he will assume responsibility for Health Mart, following the departure of former Health Mart president Steve Courtman. Courtman is now senior vice president of Cigna Pharmacy for Cigna.

Dimos has long been a champion of independent pharmacy, noting in an interview earlier this year that the independent pharmacy business model is still strong.