Brad Schwartz

His Story
Brad Schwartz is the Pharmacy Clinical Services Manager for Avita Health System in north central Ohio. He received his BS Pharmacy degree from the University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in 2004. Over his career, he has had the opportunity to work in a variety of practice settings ranging from a freestanding cancer center to critical access and teaching hospitals. 

His current position provides him the opportunity serve as the health-system leader for clinical and medication safety related initiatives across multiple hospitals, clinics, and practices. Brad’s areas of responsibility include inpatient and ambulatory care pharmacy practice, pharmacy informatics, student and intern experiences and he leads multiple health-system teams and committees such as the system medication safety team, pharmacy and therapeutics committee, and antimicrobial stewardship team. 

Brad also serves as the President of the Board of Trustees for Ohio’s Pharmacists Rehabilitation Organization, which is Ohio’s pharmacy peer recovery network for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy students in recovery from substance use disorders.

Describe the facility where you work (eg. Is it a teaching hospital? Health Center?)
Avita Health System is a not-for-profit health system comprised of two critical access and one community hospital totaling just over 100 beds and also provides a range of specialties from over 30 supporting medical clinics in North Central Ohio. The health system has prided itself as a continually growing independent organization that may have small hospitals but provides the same types of services and specialties as larger community hospitals.

Recent Significant Projects
Most recently, Brad has continued to modernize his health system’s approach to pharmacy services through the creation of policies and collaborative practice agreements that provide pharmacists a wide range of clinical privileges; he has recently developed inpatient clinical pharmacy specialists, pharmacist career ladders, and diversified ambulatory care services at his organization. He has coached his first longitudinal pharmacy intern through their final year of a five-year journey that progressed them through learning the duties of a pharmacy technician up to the level of pharmacist clinician. He has been able to utilize his ACLS instructor licensure to provide all staff pharmacists a more pharmacist-centric ACLS course and education in critical care response. Additionally, he fostered multiple antimicrobial stewardship and patient safety initiatives ranging from improved care of neonates to patients with OUD. 

Initial Involvement in ASHP
Brad is involved in the Section of Inpatient Care Practitioners as a member of the Small and Rural Hospitals Section Advisory Group and has also served as a case study reviewer for the ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition.

Why did you become involved in ASHP?
As a young hospital pharmacy intern, I had a preceptor that would share his copies of AJHP with me and I quickly realized where I could go to be up to date with what was happening in our profession. I chose to become a member for the abundance of resources, training, networking, and community that comes with being a member of ASHP. Over the years, I found myself contributing and reaching out more and more, whether it be through the Connect communities, roundtables at Midyear, or simply networking and being a resource to others in the organization. These types of opportunities to interact with pharmacists across the country allow me to remain progressive and up to date in the practice of pharmacy at my organization.

Advice for Someone New to Specialty Area
The great aspect of being a general practitioner is you get to experience so many things from all types of specialties, and ultimately you become a collection of knowledge that spans everything you can glean from all of the providers you get to interact with. Don’t be afraid to get involved in everyone’s problems, help whenever you can and you’ll learn an exceptional amount the more you interact with the other healthcare professions. And don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know”; you do not need to know everything off the top of your head, but you need to know how to find out information. Lastly, if you strive for leadership, don’t focus on being the best pharmacist, focus on being the best manager.

How would you explain the value of ASHP to a friend or colleague?
When pharmacists or pharmacy students ask me how to keep up to date with guidelines, pharmacy practice news, drug shortages, new medications, etc. we sit down and I walk them through all of the resources I use through ASHP. Whether it is drug shortage news, continuing education, the Daily Briefing, resource hubs, or the volumes of info found in Connect. I also let them know I have found there is no easier way for a pharmacist from Ohio to collaborate on a project with a pediatric clinical specialist in Colorado, discuss a national research project with a peer in Oregon, or be sent leadership pearls from a Chief Pharmacy Officer in Florida than by being a member of ASHP.

What is the value of ASHP for the profession?
For me, there is no other single organization that can provide the level of information, resources, networking, and push for the advancement of our profession than ASHP.