Stephen Polley

Stephen’s Story

Dr. Polley graduated with his Pharm.D. and Master of Public Administration from the University of Kentucky in 2014. After graduation, Stephen completed a PGY1/PGY2 Health-system Pharmacy Administration residency at The University of Kansas Hospital. After residency, Stephen accepted a position as the Investigational Drug Service Manager at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Dr. Polley is a member of the Section of Pharmacy Practice Managers Advisory Group, Management of the Pharmacy Enterprise.

Overview of Facility/Health System

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is a 1300 bed academic medical center. The Investigational Drug Service manages approximately 500 open trials with ~400 of those trials being oncology-related.

Significant Projects 

 Recently, Stephen restructured the IDS pharmacists into teams based on disease states. The restructure better aligns with the trial management offices at OSU, IT resources, and the department’s pharmacy specialists. Further, the restructure places a primary and secondary pharmacist on each study allowing for a more robust QA process. Additionally, Stephen is working on a project torevamp the research medication billing process. This project includes creating an avenue to capture and approve charges within the electronic health record and more closely align revenue with expenses as they occur. A third project is barcoding of all oral investigational medications to improve the safety and accuracy of dispensing of oral investigational medications. 

Advice for Someone New to Your Specialty Area

 “At the beginning, take the necessary time to really learn about your area. I spent the first few weeks learning about our processes. You can learn a ton from the frontline team and very quickly can identify future opportunities for improvement. Second, ask a lot of questions. Not only did I get to know my staff, but I quickly learned from them about projects they’d like to see completed. This input is invaluable and engenders trust.”

Initial Involvement in ASHP

 “I worked in a hospital pharmacy during undergraduate and pharmacy school. Joining ASHP was a natural choice as it allowed me to continue to learn more about health-system pharmacy and provided a great forum for networking in an area I am passionate about. During pharmacy school, my mentors cultivated a desire in me to give back to the profession.”

Value of ASHP

 “ASHP allows pharmacy practitioners to share a unified voice in advocating for pharmacy and our patients. ASHP is a great forum to build and develop relationships. I draw regularly from these relationships and it is nice to have a network of peers to learn from and bounce ideas off.”

“ASHP represents a large cross-section of our profession. It provides a forum where pharmacists can come together to discuss best practices, learn from each other’s initiatives, and continue to advocate for our patients and the profession. ASHP provides numerous resources that are helpful in daily practice. The sharing of knowledge continues to push pharmacy practice forward across the country.”