ASHP Appoints Section of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners Executive Committee

New Section Will Provide Enhanced Focus on Important Specialty Pharmacy Issues

ASHP today announced the Section of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners Executive Committee appointments. The new section will support ASHP’s efforts to help its members provide optimal patient care and comprehensive medication management in the specialty pharmacy environment in hospitals and health systems.

Specialty pharmacy practitioners are vital to improving health outcomes, identifying accessible and affordable medications for rare and chronic conditions, and ensuring the highest quality of care for complex and highly specialized patients. The Section of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners, much like ASHP’s other pharmacist-focused sections, will provide a broad range of education, tools, resources, strategic initiatives, professional policies, and advocacy to support specialty pharmacy practitioners.

“This is an exceptional group of pharmacists serving as members of the new Section of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners Executive Committee,” said ASHP Chief Executive Officer, Paul W. Abramowitz, Pharm.D., Sc.D. (Hon.), FASHP. “Their deep and varied expertise across a range of practice settings will be invaluable to building a robust portfolio of ASHP tools and resources to serve our members, and for advancing specialty pharmacy practice and improving patient care.” 

The Executive Committee is composed of five ASHP members who practice in broad and diverse specialty pharmacy areas. Committee members for the 2018–2019 term are as follows:

• Chair: JoAnn Stubbings, B.S.Pharm., MHCA

  JoAnn Stubbings is the Associate Director of Specialty Pharmacy Services at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, where she is responsible for all aspects of specialty pharmacy and multimedication management for specialty pharmacy patients at UI Health. Stubbings has served as an ASHP specialty pharmacy consultant, webinar speaker, and ASHP Foundation Forecast panel member.

• Member: Karen Y. Chin, Pharm.D.

  Karen Y. Chin is the Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services and Operations at Kaiser Permanente National Specialty Pharmacy in San Francisco. She oversees Kaiser Permanente’s national specialty pharmacy services. Chin is a Specialty Pharmacy Committee Member of the Pharmacy Quality Alliance.

• Member: Tara N. Kelley, Pharm.D., CSP

  Tara N. Kelley is the Director of Specialty Pharmacy Services at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. She has extensive experience in initiating and growing specialty pharmacy clinical services within a health system and a solid understanding of the specialty pharmacy industry.

• Member: Shane B. Madsen, Pharm.D., BCPS

  Shane B. Madsen is the Ambulatory Clinical Pharmacy Manager of the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City. He directs the clinical programming for primary and specialty pharmacy services at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics.

• Member: Steven Zabriski, B.S.Pharm., M.B.A.

  Steven Zabriski is the Senior Director of Payer Strategies at Acentrus Specialty, the health-system solution for specialty pharmacy in Irving, Texas. His experience with payers, prescribers, and manufacturers brings a unique perspective on and understanding of the specialty pharmacy market and patient care needs.

The Executive Committee will hold its first meeting in October 2018. Additional volunteer engagement opportunities in the new section will be available to all ASHP members soon thereafter.

About ASHP
ASHP represents pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in acute and ambulatory settings. The organization’s 45,000 members include pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians. For more than 75 years, ASHP has been at the forefront of efforts to improve medication use and enhance patient safety. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists advance healthcare, visit ASHP’s website, www.ashp.org, or its consumer website, www.SafeMedication.com.