Choe Named 2025 Recipient of ASHP Board of Directors Distinguished Leadership Award

Today, the ASHP Board of Directors announced that Hae Mi Choe, a pioneering leader in ambulatory care pharmacy whose work laid the groundwork for pharmacists' involvement in accountable care organizations, patient-centered medical homes, specialty pharmacy, and other organized care settings, is a 2025 recipient of the ASHP Board of Directors Distinguished Leadership Award.

Choe is the chief population health officer for Michigan Medicine, associate dean for pharmacy innovations and partnerships at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy, and the executive director of the Michigan Institute for Care Management & Transformation with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. She has held numerous leadership positions in healthcare delivery throughout her career.

Choe has implemented innovative programs to integrate pharmacists into clinical care teams as active co-managers of patients’ chronic conditions. Her efforts were recognized locally, statewide, and nationally, including a group practice model for clinical pharmacists across 14 Michigan Medicine health centers and a reimbursement process for clinical pharmacy services using care management codes.

Most recently, Choe spearheaded the development of a hypertension care model featuring pharmacists embedded on healthcare teams in primary care clinics and community pharmacies. This model proved so effective in controlling blood pressure that, in 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cited it as a best practice. In 2024, the CDC announced plans to scale up and expand it to several southeastern states.

“Dr. Choe is a visionary leader whose work has drawn attention to the critical role pharmacists play on healthcare teams and transformed care delivery not only in her state but across the nation,” said ASHP CEO Paul W. Abramowitz. “Her contributions have left an indelible mark on pharmacy practice, and we are pleased to recognize her efforts with the Board of Directors Distinguished Leadership Award.”

A widely published author and sought-after speaker, Choe has authored numerous articles in AJHP on ambulatory and primary care and served as guest editor of the theme issue on the impact of pharmacists in telehealth and comprehensive medication management. She was actively involved in ASHP’s efforts to support ambulatory care pharmacy, including participating in the ASHP Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice Model Initiative Summit and the ASHP Task Force on Accountable Care Organizations. Most recently, she was invited to participant on ASHP’s Commission on Goals, which focused on primary care delivery transformation.

A committed and respected mentor to many learners, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals, Choe has positively impacted people and patients throughout the country with her personal leadership.

Choe’s work has received many honors, including the ASHP Best Practice Award, Southeastern Michigan Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ Innovative Practice Award, the Michigan Society of Health-System Pharmacists’ President’s Award, the American Pharmacists Association Foundation’s Pinnacle Award, and the Advisory Board Company’s Integrated Pharmacy Models in Primary Care - Best Practice Models.

Choe earned a BS in biochemistry/cell biology from the University of California, San Diego, and a PharmD from the University of California, San Francisco. She completed her pharmacy residency at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Los Angeles.