Dipale Patel

Her Story

Dr. Patel graduated from Drake University with her PharmD and MBA in 2014. She then went on to complete a PGY1 Pharmacy Practice Residency (2014-2015) followed by PGY2 Health System Administration Residency (2015-2016) at NorthShore University HealthSystem which is based out of Evanston, Illinois. Dr. Patel has also achieved board certifications in pharmacotherapy (2015) and compounded sterile preparations (2021). Dr. Patel has been working in pharmacy since the age of 15, starting out her pharmacy career as a pharmacy technician at an independent retail pharmacy. She currently serves as the director of oncology pharmacy services at NorthShore University HealthSystem-Kellogg Cancer Center. She previously worked at Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan as the manager and assistant director of infusion pharmacy services.

She is Director of Oncology Pharmacy Practice, which includes oversight of infusion pharmacies, at NorthShore University Health-System, part of NorthShore Edward-Elmhurst Health. Dr. Patel also precepts PGY2 in HealthSystem Administration and PGY2 Oncology Residents.

Facility

Dr. Patel currently works at NorthShore University HealthSystem, which is part of the larger health-system known as NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health. This health-system consists of 9 hospitals with nearly 2,400 beds, 27,000 team members, over 6,000 physicians and more than 300 local ambulatory locations. Dr. Patel is part of the cancer institute which currently has 4 cancer infusion centers and subsequently 4 infusion pharmacies.

Recent Significant Projects

Dr. Patel has been part of a team leading integration and standardization efforts between the cancer centers at Swedish Hospital and NorthShore University HealthSystem. These integration and standardization efforts have allowed for both site to exchange ideas and workflows to determine the best practices to implement across all sites so that the care is the same regardless of which site. In addition, Dr. Patel has been part of the leadership team that is working to implement USP 797 and USP 800 standards across the health system for the NorthShore University HealthSystem compounding pharmacies. As a part of these efforts, Dr. Patel has been leading a request for proposal to determine the best clean room vendor to use for certifications and environmental sampling. Lastly, Dr. Patel has been leading a project to implement a delivery robot at one of the hospital to test it out for delivery of medications. This project is in the early phases, and she hopes to a positive outcome from this project in how technology can assist staff members get their work done more efficiently.

Involvement in ASHP

Dr. Patel is currently a member of the Section of Pharmacy Practice Leaders Advisory Group on Frontline Leaders. This is Dr. Patel's first year on this advisory group and she hopes to continue her involvement for years to come.

Why did you become involved in ASHP? 

Dr. Patel became involved in ASHP so that she could continue to build her professional network by meeting other leaders within the profession. In addition, Dr. Patel would like to give back to the organization and community that has provided her with some great resources and insight as part of her professional growth. 

Advice for Someone New to Specialty Area 

The area of infusion pharmacy and infusion services as a whole is an area where one should be ready for continuous learning, new challenges, and lots of growth opportunities. The number of infusion treatments available for various diseases within the oncology and non-oncology realm continue to grow, which makes this an exciting part of pharmacy to work in and advance professionally. The infusion business continues to be a part of health care that continues to see growth and expansion, making it also a great opportunity to make your mark in how best practices are developed and carried on for years to come.

How would you explain the value of ASHP to a friend or colleague?

ASHP has a wealth of knowledge and resources available for members at their resources, starting with white papers, continuing education, networking opportunities, etc. The variety of these resources make it a great one stop shop for members to search and utilize the resource they are in need at various points in their careers or use them for projects/tasks that the members are working on.

What is the value of ASHP for the profession?

ASHP is able to represent pharmacists at a larger scale and on platforms that are often harder for a small group for individuals to get noticed at. They are able to advocate for advancement in pharmacy practice, while also sharing and exchanging ideas with other national professional organizations both within pharmacy and other health care provider.