Our Consultants

Amir Emamifar’s career spans more than 30 years as a clinical pharmacist, academician, health system clinical pharmacy coordinator, director of pharmacy, health system vice president/chief pharmacy officer and global health executive. He has a strong collaborative leadership style and is a metric driven executive who measures performance based on achievement of deliverables.  Dr. Emamifar was the Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer at Temple University Healthcare System and has an appointment as Distinguished Clinical Scholar in Pharmacy at Temple University College of Pharmacy. He is currently the Senior consultant with ASHP and also serves as healthcare consultant with several startup and pharmaceutical companies.

Dr. Emamifar has been responsible for pharmacy services in several health care organizations and two large academic medical centers. His experience includes inpatient services, clinical services, cancer care, clinical trials and investigational drug services, health system IT, supply chain, prescription benefit management, retail, and infusion pharmacies.

Dr. Emamifar received his undergraduate pharmacy degree from University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy degree from University of Colorado College of pharmacy. He also received Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Administration from Our Lady of the Lake University of San Antonio with high honors.  He is a Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics of Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania and Woodruff Leadership Academy Fellow of Emory University.

Bruce Vinson’s career spans several decades as a pharmacist, administrator, and consultant. He is the Associate Director of Pharmacy Services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Much of Bruce’s career has been focused on cutting-edge pharmacy issues, including clinical services and practice models evaluation and implementation; formulary management including biosimilars policy; automation assessment, implementation, and optimization; managing drug use and costs; clean room technology and design as well as USP Chapters <797> and <800> compliance issues; oncology pharmacy practice; investigational drug services; and pharmacy regulatory compliance issues. Bruce’s broad experience in pharmacy practice enables him to deliver consulting expertise in facility design; human resource management and staffing resource needs; medication distribution, control, and safety; budgeting and inventory management; operations management; and transitions of care operations.

Bruce earned his Pharm.D. from Wayne State University. He completed the Fellow of Executive Management Program at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. Bruce has served as an advisor and member of the boards of several professional healthcare organizations including the Advisory Board, Joint Commission’s Medication Use Task Force, Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties Task Force, Pharmacy Technician Certification Board Task Force, and ASHP.

Christopher Fausel has more than 20 years of experience serving cancer patients. His expertise includes all aspects of oncology clinical and operational practice, plus billing for services, USP Chapter <800>, clean room technology and design, and integration of community practice sites into health systems. Chris has served as a clinical pharmacist and clinical director, and he currently serves as the Clinical Manager at the Indiana University Health Simon Cancer Center in Indianapolis. Chris holds academic appointments in the Department of Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, at the Butler University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and at the Purdue University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He is the Chairman of the Board of the Hoosier Cancer Research Network, a not for profit oncology clinical research organization that serves as the administrative headquarters for the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium. Chris has written numerous journal articles and book chapters and is a nationally invited speaker on topics of oncology therapeutics and pharmacy practice.

Chris earned his B.S.Pharm. and Pharm.D. from the Albany College of Pharmacy in Albany, N.Y. He earned his M.H.A. from Simmons College in Boston, Mass. He is a Board-Certified Oncology Pharmacist and a founding member of the Hematology Oncology Pharmacy Association.

Curtis Collins has a record of local, state, and national leadership within the infectious disease community. He has an extensive track record of leading antimicrobial stewardship efforts in diverse healthcare settings. Curtis is a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Infectious Diseases/Antimicrobial Stewardship, at St. Joseph Mercy Health System in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy in Ann Arbor. Curtis’ work in the area of infectious disease and antimicrobial stewardship includes positions on the National Quality Forum (NQF) Infectious Diseases Technical Advisory Panel, the Safety and Healthcare-Associated Infections Work Group, the Surgery Maintenance Project Steering Committee, and the Pulmonary and Critical Care Steering Committee. He has also served as a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Pew Charitable Trusts Inpatient Antibiotic Prescribing workgroup.

Curtis earned his Pharm.D. from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and his M.S. and residency in Health-System Pharmacy Administration from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He also holds Board Certification with Added Qualifications-Infectious Disease from the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialists. Curtis has served as an advisor with various healthcare organizations including the Michigan Department of Community Health’s Healthcare Associated Infections Advisory Group.

David Weetman is a pharmacy administrator with over 20 years’ experience in health-system pharmacy. He is the Director, Acute Care Services of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC), as well as the Coordinator of the UIHC Health-System Pharmacy Administration Residency Program. He also serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. As a Senior Consultant, David’s experience in change management, human resource management, and leadership development contribute to helping clients improve medication distribution and control, operations management, clinical services and practice models evaluation and implementation, staffing resource needs, regulatory and compliance issues, and transitions of care operations. As a practicing administrator, David possesses considerable knowledge of automation assessment and optimization, facility and clean room technology and design, controlled substances and drug diversion, pediatric pharmacy practice, medication safety, and emergency preparedness. David actively works with critical access hospitals regarding clinical services and the provision of pharmaceutical care to rural populations.

David earned his B.S. Pharm. from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. He completed a residency in Pharmacy Practice at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and earned his M.S. in Business from Johns Hopkins University. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2015 Iowa Pharmacist Associate Health-System Pharmacist of the Year. David has served as an advisor and member of the boards of several professional healthcare organizations including the Iowa Pharmacists Association and ASHP.

Douglas Slain is a Professor and Infectious Diseases Clinical Specialist at West Virginia University (WVU). His clinical practice sites at WVU include the Infectious Disease Consult Service and the Infectious Diseases Clinic. For more than 18 years, Doug has shared his infectious diseases expertise through direct patient care, teaching and research. With more than 33 peer-reviewed publications, numerous domestic and international presentations and research in the field of anti-infectives, Doug has established himself as a subject matter expert in the field of infectious diseases and antimicrobial stewardship.

Doug earned his Pharm.D. from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He completed a residency and fellowship in Infectious Diseases Pharmacotherapy at the Medical College of Virginia (Virginia Commonwealth University) in Richmond. He has the distinction of being a Board-Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) with added qualifications in Infectious Diseases. Doug has received numerous awards including the “Clinician of the Year” by the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists in 2007. He was also granted the 2012-2013 Fulbright Specialist Scholar for the host country of India.

Gene Rhea is the Associate Chief Pharmacy Officer, Retail and Specialty Pharmacy Services, at Duke University Hospital, Durham, North Carolina, where he oversees multiple retail and specialty pharmacy operations as well as a robust patient assistance and prior authorization program. Gene’s previous positions at Duke include Director, Pharmacy Finance, Business Intelligence, and Analytics; Manager, Procurement, Repackaging, and Distribution; and Clinical Pharmacist. He is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Clinical Education, Eschelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Gene’s expertise in pharmacy practice includes operations and regulatory oversight of retail and specialty pharmacy services, fiscal performance and strategic planning coordination; 340B program compliance and operational optimization (perpetual audit readiness, policy and procedure maintenance, and coordination of an oversight committee); and annual expense budgeting, departmental accounting, and revenue management activities.

Gene earned his Bachelors in Chemistry from DePauw University, his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Purdue University and his MHA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has been twice awarded the Duke Strength, Hoping and Caring Award and is a member of the Durham County Board of Health as well as the ASHP Section Advisory Group for Specialty Pharmacy Accreditation and Compliance.

Geneen Gibson is an Infectious Diseases Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at the St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System in Savannah, Ga. Previously she was a Clinical Pharmacist Specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, N.Y. Before attending pharmacy school, Geneen was a microbiologist for 15 years in the VA Healthcare System. She has been an adjunct clinical faculty member for numerous colleges of pharmacy and is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in Clinical and Administrative Pharmacy at the University of Georgia and a Preceptor for the Infectious Diseases Clinical Rotation for doctor of pharmacy candidates. 

At St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System, Geneen serves as Coordinator of the Antimicrobial Management Program. She is also a founding member of the City-Wide Antimicrobial Management Program in Savannah, Ga. Geneen brings her more than 30 years’ experience in infectious diseases to ASHP Consulting and its clients.  

Geneen earned her Pharm.D. from the University of Florida in Gainesville and completed pharmacy practice and infectious diseases residency programs at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) with added qualifications in Infectious Diseases, and is a member of ASHP, ACCP, ASM, IDSA,

Jannet Carmicheal has served as a pharmacy executive, clinical pharmacy specialist, and academician for more than 30 years. In 2017, she retired from the Veterans Health Administration, where she was Veteran Integrated Service Network (VISN) 21 Pharmacy Executive for the VA Sierra Pacific Network, caring for 650,000 veterans in Nevada, Northern California, and Hawaii. She directed the Clinical Data Warehouse in VISN 21 and coordinated pharmacy operations; health analytics; pharmacoeconomics; academic detailing; and pharmacoepidemiology quality, safety, and value programs using the Clinical Data Warehouse and health analytics for the VISN. Prior to this, she was Clinical Pharmacy Coordinator at the VA Sierra Nevada Health Care System in Reno, Nev., and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. Jan is a prolific writer, authoring hundreds of original publications and numerous abstracts, proceedings, and reports. She is a frequent speaker on progressive pharmacy practice.

Jan’s extensive career and practice experience will help clients in many areas, including leadership, team development, population health improvement, pharmacoeconomics and outcomes, formulary management, drug utilization and cost management, credentialing and privileging, ambulatory care clinical practice and management, clinical services and practice model evaluation and implementation, pharmacy residency advancement, metric development, and health-system integration.

Jan earned her B.S.Pharm. from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy and her Pharm.D. from the University of the Pacific College of Pharmacy. She is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist, a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy, and a Fellow of the American Pharmacist Association (APhA). Jan is a member of numerous professional boards and committees, and has served in leadership positions in several professional healthcare associations, including ASHP. She has received numerous awards, including the 2013 Harvey A.K. Whitney Lecture Award, was named Federal Pharmacist of the Year by APhA in 2012, and was named the Iowa Distinguished Alumni in 2011 and the Osterhaus Medal for Lifetime Achievement in 2017. She and her staff received the ASHP Best Practices in Health-System Pharmacy Award in 2002 and the ASHP Foundation Medication Safety Award in 2012. Jan is the Past Chair of the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS), former Chair of the BCPS Pharmacotherapy Council, and an ACPE Practitioner Reviewer. She has served as a member of the National Quality Forum (NQF) Medication Management Steering Committee and was a member of the CMS Medication Measures Technical Expert Panel. 

Jason Xu is the Assistant Manager in the Investigational Pharmacy Service at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.  His responsibilities include managing clinical trial operations related to investigational drugs; reviewing new research protocols to determine best methods of implementation in alignment with institutional practices; supervising a team of pharmacists and specialty technicians; facilitating audits and regulatory reviews from FDA, NCI, and other research sponsors; and leading quality improvement projects to enhance efficiencies, safety, and operation excellence. He has collaborated with numerous pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations to help optimize all aspects of investigational drug handling and dosing. He is a member of the Institutional Review Board and has served on the Scientific Review Committee. 

Jason earned his Pharm.D. With High Honors and Research Honors from the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy.

Jeff Reichard has served in health-system pharmacy leadership roles for over a decade. He currently is the System Executive Director for Pharmacy Operations at UNC Health. Specifically, Jeff supports System Services for Home Delivery Pharmacy, Investigational Drug Services, Integrated Pharmacy Supply Chain Management, Retail Pharmacy, and Specialty Pharmacy Services. This role aligns with his professional purpose to promote and advance health-systems based pharmacy services.

As a Senior Consultant, Jeff brings a wide array of relevant experiences particularly in acute and ambulatory practice management, launching new business lines within pharmacy, excelling in the compliance and accreditation of outpatient pharmacies, practice model development for clinical pharmacy services, building new pharmacy residency programs, pharmacy contracting (e.g., payors, manufacturers, third parties), and the financial management of the pharmacy enterprise.

Prior to his current role with UNC Health, Jeff served in a multitude of leadership roles providing vision and oversight for hospital-based infusion centers and both inpatient and outpatient oncology services while also orchestrating home delivery, specialty pharmacies, and community pharmacies.

Jeff earned his Pharm.D. from the Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Jeff also completed a combined residency and Master of Science in Health-systems Pharmacy Administration at the University Of North Carolina Hospitals. He also has the distinction of Board Certification in Oncology Pharmacy from the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties.

Judy Ross Prewitt has 40 years of experience in a variety of nursing roles throughout her career.  Judy recently retired from Duke University Health System as an Associate Chief Nursing Officer – Practice, co-chair of the Duke University Hospital Medication Safety Committee, Duke University Health-System Nurse Lead for care redesign and Magnet Program Director.  During her career at Duke, she served as the vice chair for the institutional review board, led care redesign programs for transport services, was the Associate Director for Duke Oncology Outreach Service, and was an assistance nurse manager for the bone marrow transplant unit.  She led implementation smart pump infusion devices, product changes within Duke Hospital, assisted with the development and implementation of a clinical career ladder, and led numerous care design and redesign projects. Judy was an adjunct faculty member of the Duke University School of Nursing and has numerous publications to her credit. She holds a Six Sigma Black Belt and has always maintained interests in quality and safety.    

July earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2010 from Duke University and has certifications as an Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse and a Board Certified Advanced Nurse Executive.

Mark Woods’ career spans more than 30 years as a clinical pharmacist, academician, director of pharmacy, innovator, and mentor. He is currently the Clinical Coordinator and PGY1 Residency Program Director at St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, MO.

Mark has demonstrated sustained leadership of pharmacy practice, clinical services, and educational programs throughout his career. His expertise includes clinical services and practice model development, implementation, and evaluation; formulary management and medication stewardship; human resources management; staff development, coaching, and mentoring; pharmacy and interdisciplinary research; leadership development; and strategic planning. Mark has focused much of his career on the development of student, intern, and residency programs; training of preceptors; and, more recently, layered learning models.

Mark earned his B.S.Pharm. from the University of Kansas and his Pharm.D. from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He completed a clinical pharmacy residency at UCSF in San Francisco and is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS). Mark has received numerous awards for his research, distinguished service, and leadership. Additionally, he is and has been a member of various FDA advisory committees. Mark has served in leadership positions in several professional healthcare associations as well, including the Kansas and Missouri Societies of Health-System Pharmacists and ASHP.

Matthew Kelm has more than 17 years of experience as a pharmacist, pharmacy administrator, academician, author and researcher. He is the Associate Chief Pharmacy Officer for Oncology Pharmacy Services at Duke Health in Durham, NC.  

Matt’s expertise in human resource management and leadership development contributes to his ability to help clients improve medication distribution and control, operations management, staffing resource needs, regulatory and compliance issues. As a practicing pharmacy leader, Matt possesses extensive knowledge of automation assessment and optimization, use of data to innovate pharmacy and enhance operational processes, facility and clean room technology and design, controlled substances and drug diversion, medication safety, infusion strategy, financial management, emergency preparedness and innovative models for pharmacy technician education.

Matt earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Purdue University and his Masters in Healthcare Administration from University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.  He is a guest lecturer for the Health-system Pharmacy course for the UNC Eschelman School of Pharmacy Master of Science in Pharmaceutical Science with a specialization in health-systems pharmacy.

He is actively involved in multiple state and national level professional organizations. Dr. Kelm serves as a lead surveyor for the Pharmacy Technician Accreditation Commission. Dr. Kelm is the immediate past president of the North Carolina Pharmacists Association and was made a fellow of the organization in 2023.

Matthew Rim has over ten years of progressive pharmacy administration and leadership experience. He is the System Director of Ambulatory Pharmacy Services at Northwestern Medicine. He earned his Pharm.D. from the Western University of Health Sciences and M.S. from the University of Utah while completing the two-year health-system pharmacy administration residency at University of Utah Health.

Matthew has made significant contributions to the advancement of pharmacy practice in ambulatory care settings. He successfully led the pharmacy and interdisciplinary teams to implement and manage innovative pharmacy programs and value-added services in health systems, including a pharmacy benefit manager for hospital employees, centralized refill authorization program for specialty and primary care  clinics received the 2015 ASHP Best Practices Award, new specialty pharmacy program accredited by URAC and ACHC, pharmacy services call center for 16 outpatient pharmacies received the 2018 USHP Pharmaceutical Care Practice Award, system-wide central prior authorization program, central ambulatory pharmacy facility, and mail order pharmacy converted from a retail outpatient pharmacy. He receives frequent interview requests from pharmacy and healthcare media outlets to share his expert opinions on health-system pharmacy practice, specialty pharmacy, centralized ambulatory pharmacy operations, payer networks, and insurance navigation processes.

Matthew is actively involved in ASHP. He serves as the contributing editor of specialty pharmacy and editorial board member of AJHP. He is one of current authors of the annual AJHP publication - National trends in prescription drug expenditures and projections. He recently completed his term as the Chair of the Section of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners. He has also served as a peer reviewer for AJHP, educational programming reviewer for the Midyear Clinical Meeting, ASHP Foundation Pharmacy Forecast panel member, student and resident poster mentor, student CV reviewer, content matter expert for an ASHP Summer Meeting workshop, moderator and presenter of various in-person and virtual educational sessions, speaker for ASHP Podcasts, and meeting facilitator. He is also involved in the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists and currently serves as the Chair of ICHP Specialty Pharmacy Network.

Mike Canale has over 45 years’ experience as a pharmacy leader in multiple health systems.  He has extensive experience as a pharmacy informatics specialist, coordinator and manager.  Mike recently retired from the Duke University Health System where he managed Epic’s Inpatient Pharmacy, Retail Pharmacy, and Oncology applications.  He joined Duke University Hospital in 2004 as Assistant Director of Pharmacy with administrative responsibility for the Sterile Preparations Cleanroom, Duke Compounding Pharmacy, and Pharmacy Informatics. He successfully implemented Pandora SQL to provide analysis of automated dispensing, served as the Project Manager for Abacus TPN 2.0 and Robot Rx upgrades, and assisted with the implementation of a closed loop interface between McKesson’s CPOE and Horizon Meds Manager (HMM) Systems. In 2009, Mike became the Pharmacy Informatics Coordinator responsible for pharmacy information systems and technologies, strategic plans, system maintenance and report development. In this role, he provided support for Horizon Meds Manager, Abacus, Pandora, Connect-Rx, Robot-Rx, Omnicell, and an in-house developed barcode scanning programs.

 Prior to joining Duke, Mike had worked at the Guthrie Healthcare System in Sayre, PA where he began his pharmacy career and served as the system’s Director of Pharmacy Services from 1995 to 2003. He started his informatics career there with the design and implementation of an in-house pharmacy order-entry system and then served as pharmacy project manager for the implementation of IDX Pharmacy, Cerner PharmNet, and Epic CPOE.

Mike received his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the Albany College of Pharmacy (1976) and his Master of Science in Systems Science from the Watson School of Engineering and Computer Science at SUNY Binghamton (1985). He also completed the GlaxoSmithKline Executive Management Program for Pharmacy Leaders in 2005.

Michael Freudiger is a board-certified clinical pharmacist and USP Chapter <795>/<797>/<800> Compliance Supervisor at Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, Calif. He also consults with pharmacies engaging in sterile and nonsterile compounding, including hazardous drugs. Michael’s interest in the multifaceted area of sterile compounding compliance and implementation has led him to become an expert in areas such as regulatory compliance, risk assessment, clean room technology and design, and sterile compounded drug stability and administration. He assists clients with the development and maintenance of policies and procedures compliant with USP Chapter <795>, <797>, and <800>, including California-specific regulations. These materials include employee education, providing in-services, and writing learning modules with competency assessment programs as part of the quality assurance plan.

His California client sites have each passed multiple inspections with highly positive feedback from the state board of pharmacy.

Michael earned his Pharm.D. from the University of the Pacific and completed a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency at the Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System in Loma Linda, Calif. He is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS), Certified Geriatric Pharmacist (CGP), and Advanced Practice Pharmacist (APP).

Nicole Panosh has over 10 years of experience as a pediatric pharmacy leader in multiple health systems.  She is the Associate Chief Pharmacy Officer for Duke Children’s Hospital and Health Center in Durham, NC.  Nicole joined Duke as the Clinical Manager for Pediatrics from 2012 to 2017.  Prior to her tenure at Duke, she was Clinical Operations Manager for Pediatrics at the Oregon Health and Science University. 

Nicole’s expertise is in human resources management, clinical leadership, EHR adaptation for pediatric populations, clinical and operational service expansion and pharmacy design and construction.  Nicole possesses extensive knowledge of challenges in pediatric dosing, formulations, concentration standardization and EHR decision support.

Nicole earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Campbell University before completing a two-year combined HSPA-L residency at Duke University Hospital and MS degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She earned a Duke Pharmacy Excellence Award and a Duke Star Award for her leadership in implementing and overseeing pharmacy preparation of COVID-19 vaccines for Duke University Hospital patients, employees and the community.

Nikolaus (Nik) Lawson is the Director of Pharmacy at the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters (CHKD) in Norfolk, VA, where he oversees system inpatient and outpatient pediatric pharmacy services. Nik’s previous positions include Pharmacy Operations Manager at CHKD, Inpatient Pharmacy Manager at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), and Pediatric Clinical Pharmacist (PRN) at MUSC. He also previously served as an Affiliate Assistant Professor at the MUSC College of Pharmacy. With additional experience as an inpatient and retail pharmacy technician and retail pharmacy intern, Nik has over 12 years of experience in the pharmacy profession. 

Nik’s experience in pharmacy practice includes inpatient and clinical operations oversight, pharmacy supply chain management and optimization, 340B program regulatory compliance and readiness, and direct fiscal responsibility for various levels of pharmacy scope of services. As a practicing pharmacy leader, Nik's passions for pharmacy advancement include strategic system-wide enhancement of pharmacy services, development of pharmacy leadership, analysis of revenue cycles, and the growth and innovation of pharmacy automations systems.

Nik earned his Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of Virginia, his Master's of Business Administration from Campbell University, and his Doctor of Pharmacy from Campbell University. He completed a two-year residency in Health-System Pharmacy Administration at MUSC in Charleston, SC. Nik is also Board Certified in Pharmacotherapy (BCPS). 

Rita Shane has an outstanding track record of more than 25 years as a pharmacy leader, administrator, and academician. She is the Chief Pharmacy Officer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and Assistant Dean, Clinical Pharmacy Services, at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Pharmacy. She has also served as a consultant for a number of healthcare facilities. Rita’s leadership with national and international involvement in pharmacy practice establishes her as an Executive Consultant with ASHP Consulting, able to provide consultations in any setting for most of our service offerings.

Throughout her illustrious career, Rita has done leading-edge work in demonstrating and measuring the value of pharmacy services. She has written over 90 papers and was the U.S. facilitator and author of an international paper on medication administration at the Global Conference on the Future of Hospital Pharmacy held in 2008. Rita has provided over 190 presentations and recently served as the keynote speaker at pharmacy meetings in Singapore and Spain. In the area of research, Rita’s contributions are too numerous to list. Of special note, she was co-investigator of a 2000 National Patient Safety Foundation Research Award to study the impact of dedicated medication nurses on the rate of medication administration errors, which was subsequently published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. She also served as an investigator in a multicenter study of medications errors recovered by emergency department pharmacists, which was published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Rita earned her Pharm.D. from the University of Southern California. She has received numerous awards including being named one of the “50 Experts Leading the Field of Patient Safety,” in the 2013 Becker’s Hospital Review and receiving the 2012 Harvey A.K. Whitney Award, the highest honor in health-system pharmacy. Rita has served as advisor and board member of many healthcare organizations, including serving as the ASHP representative to the American Hospital Association Health Professions Committee (2003-2008) and the Joint Commission Hospital Professional Technical Committee (2007-2013).

Roy Guharoy has more than 20 years of experience as a pharmacy administrator, academician, author, and researcher. Most recently, Roy served as Vice President for Clinical Integration and Chief Pharmacy Officer at Ascension Health, where he led the development of systemwide, value-based clinical excellence initiatives including strategy, design, and implementation of standardized, evidence-based medication therapy use, quality and safety protocols.  Since 2007, Roy has served as Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Mass., where he lectures on patient safety, regulatory requirements, and infectious disease management. 

Roy has also served as the Chief Pharmacy Officer at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Health Care system and Director of Pharmacy and Associate Chief of Section of Clinical Pharmacology at the SUNY Upstate Medical University System. His operational excellence and achievements in clinical and transformational excellence make him an ideal consultant for system integration and resource optimization; metric-driven, evidence-based medicine and clinical outcome optimization; financial sustainability, including 340B Drug Pricing Program optimization, ambulatory care practice management and clinical practice, formulary management, management of drug use and costs, and regulatory/compliance issues; and practice model transformation.

Roy earned his Pharm.D. from the University of Minnesota and his M.B.A. from the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management in Claremont, Calif. He also completed the Wharton Pharmacy Executive Management Program. Roy is a Past President of the Central New York Society of Health-System Pharmacists (2001–2003), a former member and national delegate for the Massachusetts Society of Health-System Pharmacists (2008–2012), and a member of three expert panels for the United States Pharmacopoeia (Medicare, National Drug Allergy, and Healthcare Quality). Roy has received numerous awards including the Institute for Safe Medicine Practices’ 2016 Cheers Award, the United States Pharmacopeia 2016 Award for an Outstanding Contribution to USP Standards, and the 2004 New York State Patient Safety Award. 

Sapna Amin has more than 17 years of experience in oncology pharmacy.  She currently serves as  the Clinical Pharmacy Services Manager for the Investigational Pharmacy Services (IPS) at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.   She has managed the IPS for 12 years, including a staff of more than 25 employees.  Prior to this, Sapna was a clinical pharmacy specialist for the IPS and the Lymphoma/Myeloma Clinic.  Sapna serves on the IRB and Clinical Research Committees at MD Anderson.  She has numerous publications and presentations and collaborates on a number of research trials.  Sapna serves as the Committee Chair for the NCCN Investigational Pharmacy Sub-Group and as the Investigational Drugs Committee Subgroup Chair for the Association of Dedicated Cancer Centers.

Sapna earned her B.S.Pharm. and her Pharm.D. from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science.  She completed her oncology residency at the University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.  She is a Board Certified Oncology Pharmacist.

Sarah Erush has more than 35 years of experience as a clinician, academic, and researcher. She is currently the Associate Director for Professional Practice at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP).  Previously, she served as the Clinical Manager and Residency Program Director at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia for more than 11 years, and before that as the Director of the Drug Information Service, Residency and Clinical Coordinator at HUP. 

Sarah’s areas of expertise include pediatric and adult clinical services and practice model evaluation, formulary management and P&T issues, and medication safety. She is also a skilled human resource manager and an expert in assisting clients with the specialized and unique medication needs of pediatric patients.

Sarah earned her B.S.Pharm. from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences in Springfield, Mass., and Pharm.D. from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science. She completed a specialized residency in drug information from the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.

Dr. Shusen Sun is currently a Clinical Associate Professor and Emergency Medicine Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Western New England University (WNEU). He has more than ten years of practice experience in the emergency care setting providing services to academic medical centers as well as community teaching hospitals. Dr. Sun shares his emergency medicine expertise through direct patient care, teaching, professional service, and research. He works globally with the International Federation for Emergency Medicine (IFEM) to improve emergency care and medication safety, especially in the geriatric and pediatric populations.

Dr. Sun is actively engaged in research and scholarship with numerous peer-reviewed publications and textbooks. He provides editorial work for several national and international pharmacy journals. In particular, he is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, is on the editorial board of the American Journal of Health-system Pharmacists - Chinese Edition as well as several Chinese pharmacy journals. Dr. Sun has a keen interest in expanding clinical pharmacy training to international pharmacists by establishing collaboration with pharmacy schools, hospitals, and pharmacy associations.

He is currently serving as the Director of the International Pharmacy Program at WNEU. Over his career, Dr. Sun has promoted clinical pharmacy globally through his engagement with national and international pharmacy associations, such as the American Society of Health-system Pharmacists (ASHP), the European Society of Clinical Pharmacy (ESCP), Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE), Chinese Pharmacological Society, and Chinese Medical Society Clinical Pharmacy Branch.  In addition to teaching PharmD students at WNEU, he also provides instruction in clinical pharmacy at several Chinese pharmacy schools. Through these activities, Dr. Sun has established himself as an expert and scholar in pharmacy practice, research, and global pharmacy education and training. 

Dr. Sun earned his Pharm.D. from Creighton University in Omaha, MS in Chemistry from Vanderbilt University, and BS in Polymer Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China. Dr. Sun has recently received the “Excellence in Scholarship Award” and the “Excellence in Service Award” by WNEU.

Stephen ODell has over 30 years of experience in multiple settings as a home infusion leader.  His home infusion experience began early in his career at a regional medical center in North Carolina where he was manager of the homecare services pharmacy.  He then joined a larger regional home infusion company as director of pharmacy and co-owner serving North Carolina and Virginia. 

In 2009, he joined Duke Health as Director of Home Infusion for the Duke Homecare and Hospice, a leading provider recognized on a national level for home care services with operations in three states. He is accountable for all clinical and financial aspects of infusion services, providing leadership for a staff of over 40 FTEs. 

Stephen’s expertise is in operational optimization, clinical leadership, process improvement and business development.  He is a Site Visitor for Community Health Accreditation Partners (CHAP) since 2003 where he surveys pharmacies across the country that desire accreditation for compliance with CHAP standards, state board of pharmacy regulations, DEA compliance, and standards of practice. 

He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of North Carolina Eschelman School of Pharmacy and Master of Business Administration degree from Montreat College.

Stephen (Steve) Smith’s career spans more than 40 years as a clinical pharmacist, informatics pharmacist, and administrator. Steve recently retired as Vice-President, Chief Pharmacy Officer for the Karmanos Cancer Institute based in Detroit, Michigan. In this role, Steve also served as the oncology pharmacy content expert for the twelve Karmanos Cancer Network infusion centers of McLaren Health Care.

Steve has demonstrated leadership in multi-hospital systems with skills in formulary management including biosimilar conversion, 340b management, oncology patient services, and investigational drug services. He was actively involved in the Cancer Network integration of 12 sites which included standard development, gap assessments, site evaluations and corrective action plans. Steve holds a long-time interest in patient safety, medication incident reporting systems, and safe delivery of chemotherapy and other high-risk medications. A firm believer in staff training, development, and advancement, Steve was an original member of Michigan’s Certified Technician Task Force & later served on the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board Task Force. He is a long-time PGY2 oncology residency preceptor and serves as a clinical adjunct professor at UM/WSU training IPPE/APPE students. Steve has developed transitions of care models which include closed door retail pharmacies meds to beds programs and an award-winning Specialty Pharmacy. He and his team have published on creative ways to address financial toxicities experienced with many high-cost medications and is currently developing research projects around Determinants of Social Health and Health equity.

Steve earned his B.S. Pharmacy from the University of Michigan and his M.S Pharmacy Administration from Wayne State University. Steve is an avid participant in pharmacy healthcare associations at the local, state, and national level serving on committees and various leadership roles. He served as member for the State of Michigan Task force on Hazardous Drug Handling/Disposal. Steve is a Fellow of ASHP, Michigan Pharmacists Association, Michigan Health-Systems Pharmacists, and The Advisory Board.

Susan Teil Boyer has more than 30 years of experience as a pharmacy administrator, state board of pharmacy executive, consultant, residency surveyor, and educator. She has consulting experience with the Washington State Health Information Exchange and with the Center for Pharmacy Practice Accreditation, and she has served as an ASHP lead surveyor for pharmacy residency programs for five years. Susan was the Executive Director of the Washington State Board of Pharmacy from 2009 to 2012, and prior to that served for over 20 years as Vice President and Director of Pharmacy Services for MultiCare Health System in Tacoma, Washington.  

Susan’s extensive knowledge of pharmacy practice includes health-system integration, inpatient and outpatient operations (adult and pediatric), human resource management, budgeting and financial management, supply chain, and managing drug utilization and costs. She is a change agent with experience managing clinical services, formulary and P&T issues, specialty and home infusion pharmacy services, drug diversion, and emergency preparedness. She brings clients experience incorporating quality, regulatory, and compliance measures into all processes. Susan is able to assist clients with residency program development and assessment as well as preceptor development. She is ready to assist clients in nearly any healthcare setting.

Susan earned her B.S.Pharm. from the University of Washington and her M.S. from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.  She completed a residency in Health-System Pharmacy at The Ohio State University Hospitals and later completed the Wharton Pharmacy Executive Management Program. She was President of the Washington State Society of Health-System Pharmacists in 1999, has been a member of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, and has served as a member of the ASHP Board of Directors from 1989-1993.

With a career spanning over thirty years, William Lord Jr. stands out as a seasoned pharmacist, dynamic corporate executive, and insightful consultant. Known for his leadership strength, Bill has a proven track record in scaling business units both in Fortune 50 corporations and in entrepreneurial settings. His achievements in profit and loss (P&L) management, business development, and strategic operations stem from his consultative leadership style, enriched by a solid grasp of core business principles. He specializes in key areas such as regulatory compliance, pharmacy automation, and legal affairs, alongside a deep focus on policy creation, operational enhancement, and compliance with USP Chapters <797> and <800>. His skill set also includes expertise in oncology contracting, reimbursement, medication distribution, inventory, operations management, and the oversight of controlled substances and drug diversion strategies.

Prior to retiring as the Corporate Pharmacy Director at Community Health Systems (CHS), a leading for-profit health organization, Bill made significant strides in the industry. His earlier role as Vice President of Operations at McKesson’s pharmacy management division further highlights his leadership acumen.

Bill's career is marked not just by his achievements but also by his ability to forge enduring connections with key figures in the pharmacy sector. This network, along with his extensive experience and strategic foresight in diverse pharmacy operations, uniquely positions him as a pivotal figure in shaping the future of healthcare.

William Puckett’s career in pharmacy management and administration spans more than 30 years and includes diverse health-system settings. He has provided consulting services for over a decade with Hospira, Ernst & Young, and Wellspring Partners, and as the principal at WHP-Rx Consulting and Speaking. Prior to his consulting work, Bill was the Administrative Director, Pharmacy and Patient Care Supply at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital and Texas Heart Institute, in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. In these roles, and in prior pharmacy administrative positions, he developed financial interests and expertise in areas such as budgeting, charge master evaluation, drug pricing and rebates, and inpatient drug billing. He also developed proficiency in human resources management, staffing needs analysis, and leadership development. Bill assists clients in facility design, supply chain management, operations management, medication distribution and control, emergency preparedness, and investigational drug services. He is a change manager with consulting experience in strategic planning, medication safety, controlled substances and drug diversion, regulatory issues and compliance, formulary management/P&T, and in mentoring pharmacy managers.

Bill earned his B.S. Pharm. from The Ohio State University. He completed a residency at Grant Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and went on to earn an M.S. in Hospital Pharmacy from The Ohio State University and an M.B.A. from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. He has received numerous awards for his research, management excellence, and leadership. Bill has served in leadership positions in several professional healthcare associations as well, including the Florida, Oklahoma, Ohio, and Texas Societies of Health-System Pharmacists, and ASHP.