 Pictured from Left to Right: [Back Row] Kevin Weber and Seth Housman; [Front Row] Kejal Patel, Lon Larson and Jennifer Lose. |
Drake team teakes third in national Pharmacy and Theraputics
Competition
The Drake team of Seth Housman (P3), Kejal Patel (P3), Kevin
Weber (P3) and Jennifer Lose (P2) finished third in the national Pharmacy and
Therapeutics Committee Competition at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy
(AMCP) annual meeting in San Francisco.
“Our team did an outstanding job,” said Lon
Larson, PH’71, the Levitt professor of pharmacy administration. “They enhanced the
reputation of Drake within AMCP and managed care circles.”
The competition mimics the process used by hospitals and
insurance plans in deciding if a new drug should be placed on their
formulary. The team wrote a monograph of the designated drug, assessed its
cost-effectiveness and place in therapy and formally presented and defended its
analysis and recommendation.
“The experience of the competition and traveling to San
Francisco really opens your eyes to a side of pharmacy that you don’t get to
see in school,” said Weber. “The hands-on experience of competing
against several other determined teams helped us all develop
professionally.”
The competition requires a breadth of knowledge and skills from both the
administrative and clinical sides of pharmacy practice – interpreting and
weighing studies of drug effectiveness as well as assessing the economic
implications for insurance companies or hospitals.
“Participating at the national level was an amazing
opportunity to see the pharmacy profession excel in yet another
direction,” said Housman. “It opened up future career opportunities
and provided an amazing amount of networking with alumni and prominent leaders
in managed care pharmacy.”
The Drake team was one of the eight finalists in the
national competition. To be considered eligible, the team won the local
competition and the AMCP national office selected them to compete.
Drake has participated in the competition since 2004. Drake
teams have been among the top eight finalists twice in the past four years,
finishing first in the nation in 2004.
The AMCP is a national professional society dedicated to the
concept and practice of pharmaceutical care in managed health care
environments. With over 4,800 members nationally, the academy serves to promote
the development and application of pharmaceutical care, representing the views
and interests of managed care pharmacies and all individuals. Information about
the AMCP is available online.