HEALTH-SYSTEM EDITION
SPECIAL REPORT

MOVING ON UP

With their clinical and financial skills, pharmacy managers are finding there's life beyond departmental directorships

Paul Pierpaoli has always been driven by the desire to start things from the beginning. "I'm excited by the energy that's in the early stages of development of an organization."

It was that passion for a "fresh start" that compelled Pierpaoli, a 35-year veteran of health-system pharmacy, to change career paths and accept an executive posi-tion with Medication Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of McKesson Corp.

Pierpaoli left the prestigious pharmacy directorship at Rush- Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago four years ago to become senior v.p. of pharmacy practice at Medication Management, where he oversees strategic direction for the company's pharmacy practice initiatives. Medication Management provides pharmacy management and consulting services to health systems, alternate site environments, and retail operations.

Pierpaoli represents a growing number of former pharmacy directors who have decided to switch gears—sometimes in mid-career—and put their diverse skills to work in a different venue. While there is no evidence of a mass exodus of pharmacy directors to the executive suite, industry observers note that it's not unusual these days for pharmacy directors to gravitate to various management and administrative positions in health systems, the pharmaceutical industry, group purchasing organizations, and drug wholesale companies. Ron DeChant, executive director of Illinois-based Management Recruiters of Lincolnshire, said it's not uncommon to find a former pharmacy director running a hospital or serving as a v.p. of clinical services for a large health system.

And it's not always the directors who make the first move out of the pharmacy department door. Increasingly, hospital administrators, recognizing the value of a pharmacy director's background and expertise, are recruiting these professionals for executive positions. "Pharmacy directors bring a fairly broad skill set into the equation, and they certainly have experience managing a large department and a large budget, making them attractive candidates," said Doug Scheckelhoff, director of the division of practice leadership and management for ASHP.

Scheckelhoff noted that pharmacy directors also bring their clinical background to the equation, an asset that can prove invaluable when dealing with physicians, nurses, and other clinical healthcare professionals. "Pharmacy directors know how the health system works, they have an understanding of IS systems, distribution systems, and personnel management issues." Those factors, asserted Scheckelhoff, give former pharmacy directors a distinct advantage over someone with just an MBA in hospital administration.

For Victor Perini, the positive assets that a pharmacy director brings to the executive and management environment are hard to discount. "Pharmacy leaders possess the kinds of skills that are needed to manage and administer a hospital." Perini, a former pharmacy director at Methodist Hospital in Memphis, is now the administrator and COO of Methodist Extended Care Hospital, a 36-bed facility that is part of Methodist Health System.

Perini pointed out that in addition to patient contact and clinical and scientific expertise, pharmacy directors have extensive financial management experience. "We purchase drugs; we understand what's needed at the bedside; we understand what the patient, the physician, and the nurse need." He commented that one reason some pharmacy directors seek upward mobility outside the pharmacy universe is that there aren't that many top-tier job slots available within health-system pharmacy itself. He contended that the opportunities to advance both in terms of status as well as monetarily are limited within pharmacy.

"There are only a couple of things out there—director of pharmacy positions at a few large academic medical centers and a handful of corporate directorships." He added that moving to a different career ladder is an appealing option.

For some former pharmacy directors, the decision to leave the day-to-day grind of running a pharmacy is a personal as well as a career-driven decision. "Some directors try something else and stay, some come back to pharmacy," explained Perini. "For me it was simply, 'Would you like to continue your career focused on pharmacy, or do you want to try something different?'" He went on to explain that he has taken his knowledge as a pharmacist and put it to use in his new role. " I'm still relying on much of the same knowledge base that I acquired as a pharmacist and a director, but in a different scenario."

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