LEIGH E. EFIRD, PharmD, MBA, MPH, BCPS ([email protected]) is the Director of Pharmacy for Ambulatory and Care Transitions at NewYork-Presbyterian. She received her PharmD from the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy and completed her PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at VCU Health System. She went on to complete a PGY2 Internal Medicine Residency at Grady Health System.
Efird’s leadership in ASHP includes serving as Secretary, Vice Chair, and Chair for the ASHP Section Advisory Group on Clinical Leadership. She served as the Residency Program Director for the PGY1/PGY2 Pharmacotherapy residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital from 2010 to 2015 and started a PGY2 Internal Medicine residency program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. She has presented at ASHP and Maryland Society of Health-System Pharmacists (MSHP) meetings and authored multiple publications in AJHP related to innovative pharmacy models. In 2014, she was awarded the MSHP Jeffrey E. Ensor Emerging Leader Award
As pharmacists, we play a pivotal role in the care of our patients spanning from acute care to chronic disease management. Care transitions create valuable opportunities for pharmacists and technicians to increase medication safety and ensure the affordability of medication use. With the growing complexities of healthcare, meeting patients in the community through innovative mechanisms such as telehealth and partnerships with community-based organizations creates new avenues to improve care. ASHP’s development of the Section of Community Pharmacy Practitioners signifies the recognition of a growing need to support community pharmacy and expand our services in this space. Expanding knowledge related to managing DIR fees and partnerships to improve quality metrics for value-based payment models provides financial opportunities to further support care.
My involvement with ASHP has been pivotal to my career. Learning from innovative pharmacists who are pushing our profession in a positive direction is a highlight of my involvement with the organization. My hope is that through leadership as a Director-at-Large for the Section of Community Pharmacy Practitioners, I can continue to help improve the knowledge of my colleagues and the care of healthcare consumers in our communities.