Ben Lopez

Ben’s Story

Ben is a two-time graduate of West Virginia University where he earned his bachelor's degree in 2004 and Pharm.D. in 2008. Thereafter, he moved to Columbus, Ohio and completed a combined PGY1/PGY2 in Health-System Pharmacy Administration at Grant Medical Center. During residency, Ben attended The Ohio State University and earned his M.S. in Health-System Pharmacy Administration and Master of Health Administration. Ben is currently a member of the ASHP Section Advisory Group on Managing the Pharmacy Enterprise.

Facility

Part of the National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center at The Ohio State University, The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute consists of 276 acute care beds, 72 critical care inpatient beds, and over 160 infusion beds/chairs across six outpatient centers located throughout the Columbus metropolitan area. The department dispenses over 75,000 doses of chemotherapy across the inpatient and outpatient settings annually. Ben’s primary areas of responsibility are inpatient operations for The James central pharmacy and satellites, quality improvement, legal/regulatory compliance, and automation.

Significant Projects

The James Cancer Hospital opened a brand new cancer and critical care tower, including a new central pharmacy, two inpatient satellite pharmacies, and one new outpatient satellite pharmacy in December 2014. Ben was involved in the design, operations planning, and pharmacist and technician recruitment for these new pharmacy spaces.

Advice for Someone New to Your Specialty Area

“Leaders in health-system pharmacy administration should expect the unexpected! Every day is different; I am involved in recruiting and developing new staff, implementing and optimizing novel automation, expanding our services, budgeting and financial management, regulatory compliance, teaching students and residents, and more, all with a focus on patient safety and efficiency. There is never a dull moment.”

Involvement in ASHP

“I became involved as a student member to learn more about hospital pharmacy practice. From there, I learned about residency opportunities and have since remained an active member.”

ASHP’s Value to Members

“ASHP supports its members through professional networking, resource and idea-sharing, and through pushing its members to continue to advance pharmacy practice.”

“ASHP provides a forum for leaders in health system pharmacy to connect and discuss challenges and changes within our profession. Through these forums, we are able to share best practices and develop creative solutions that are better than what we might create in isolation. ASHP is like a compass that directs our profession so that all health systems can provide the best care possible to the patients we serve.”