September 2022 Diplomat Spotlight: Teresa Roane PharmD, MBA, BCACP
Diplomat at University of Florida
How did you become involved in AMCP? I had just started my combination Drug Information/Managed Care rotation at a Managed Care Organization. I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with the pharmacy director, Tim Sawyers. Although not my assigned preceptor, he took time out of his busy day to talk with me about Managed Care and AMCP specifically. He suggested that I join AMCP that day we talked, which I did, and I have been a member ever since!
What interested you the most about managed care and ultimately led you to pursue a career in managed care pharmacy? Managed Care was not covered in the curriculum at my school back when I was a student. My pharmacy experience included working as a technician in an independent pharmacy for fourteen years prior to starting pharmacy school. During that time, Managed Care was a fairly new concept and we often had challenges filling prescriptions for people with health insurance and one healthplan in particular. During my first year in pharmacy school, we were required to shadow a fourth-year student for an hour while they were on their rotations. I was fortunate enough to get to shadow at the local Managed Care Organization (the same one that never seemed to allow a prescription to process without a rejection of some sort!). That one hour of shadowing gave me a taste of the behind-the-scenes inter-workings of Managed Care but I wanted to know more. When choosing rotation electives during my third year, I specifically chose Managed Care. I found this field of pharmacy to be very interesting and was hoping to use the knowledge that I gained to better educate and help our patients at the community pharmacy.
What was your first job or position in managed care? I was fortunate that I was on able to complete a Managed Care rotation when Tim Sawyers was the pharmacy director of the organization. After a short time of me being on the rotation, Tim asked if I would be interested in a job with the organization. Of course I thought a residency would be a requirement for this type of job so I was very surprised to find out that a residency although preferred was not required. Tim actually created a pharmacist position and held it for me until I graduated so I worked as a pharmacy intern for the organization over the next eight months going in any time that I had an opportunity (including weekends, my month off from rotations, Winter break, and Spring break). During that time, I created policies and procedures for coverage criteria of medications requiring prior authorization as well as helping start the Medicare Part D line of business for the organization (helping create the Part D formulary, coverage criteria, and the medication therapy management (MTM) program).
What does a typical day or week look like in your current role? Today I am a clinical assistant professor at the University of Florida's College of Pharmacy. I spend the majority of my time teaching, serving on various committees, working on grant projects, and advising students. I am also the Assistant Director of the Individualized Medicine graduate program (a program that combines comprehensive medication management and pharmacogenomics) as well as teach several courses for the PharmD students which focus on topic such as communication, motivational interviewing, managed care, medication therapy management, patient care, and immunizations.
What type of interactions have you had with your AMCP student chapter or school of pharmacy? I am fortunate that I am a faculty member with the college in addition to being a diplomat for AMCP. I have been a diplomat for many years and have steadily seen the increase in interest in Managed Care grow among the students especially over the last several years. UF has three campuses and two separate AMCP student chapters. I serve as the faculty advisor for the one of the student chapters and the diplomat for all three campuses. I meet with the chapter president monthly to help provide assistance and guidance. I also provide suggestions for guest speakers for their monthly organizational meetings and present myself when the opportunity arises. In addition, I help provide networking and shadowing opportunities for the chapter members when possible. I also served as the chair of the Florida Affiliate Student Affairs committee for two years in which our committee is trying to help coordinate and share efforts among all of the AMCP diplomats in Florida and their respective Colleges of Pharmacy. Definitely trying to continue to spread the word about Managed Care!
Any words of advice? The one thing I always tell students is do not burn any bridges! Pharmacy is a small world and Managed Care is an even smaller subsection of that world. Be nice to others regardless of their position today because you never know who your boss may be, or who you will supervise, in the future. Always treat others with respect and kindness. Another thing-- never stop learning and growing as a person and as a professional! I continue to learn, even as an educator, and oftentimes it is from my students. You can teach an old dog (dawg) new tricks :)
