PCORI Advisory Panels Select Two Managed Care Pharmacy Leaders Nominated by AMCP and AMCP Foundation

Alexandria, Va., September 2, 2016 — Two nationally recognized managed care pharmacy experts have been appointed to influential advisory panels of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) based on joint nominations by the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) and AMCP Foundation.

Don Klepser, PhD, MBA (put forth by AMCP Foundation), will serve on PCORI’s Advisory Panel on Addressing Disparities. And Mitzi Wasik, PharmD, BCPS (put forth by AMCP), will serve on PCORI’s Advisory Panel on Improving Healthcare Systems. PCORI announced the appointments in August.

“We are delighted that PCORI has selected these two outstanding individuals,” says AMCP CEO Susan A. Cantrell, RPh, CAE. “Their expertise will be invaluable in helping PCORI make progress on two of its national research priorities, improving health disparities and health systems, priorities shared by both the Academy and AMCP Foundation.”

Paula J. Eichenbrenner, CAE, Executive Director of the AMCP Foundation added, “The delivery of health care must be informed by a robust knowledge base that enables caregivers and clinicians to optimize patient care. Don Klepser and Mitzi Wazik’s contributions as PCORI panelists will significantly advance medication-related research.”

PCORI’s Disparities panel is charged in part with identifying potential differences in prevention, diagnosis or treatment effectiveness across patient populations, and with identifying the health care practices required to achieve best outcomes in each population. The Improving Healthcare Systems panel is charged in part with comparing health system approaches that improve access, support patient self-care, use health IT effectively, and coordinate care for complex conditions.

Don Klepser is Associate Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy. His current research includes rural pharmacy access, the expanded role for pharmacists in the changing health care environment, cost containment and managed care benefit design. He’s been an AMCP member since 2006.

Mitzi Wasik, a long-time AMCP member and former member of its Board of Directors, serves as the Lead Business Strategy Consultant for Aetna’s Medicare business in the insurer’s southeast region. Her current role includes identifying areas that drive overall performance improvement around quality measures such as adherence, high-risk medications.

About AMCP
The Academy is a national professional association of pharmacists and other health care practitioners who serve society by the application of sound medication management principles and strategies to improve health care for all. The Academy’s roughly 8,000 members develop and provide a diversified range of clinical, educational and business management services and strategies on behalf of the more than 200 million Americans covered by a managed care pharmacy benefit. www.amcp.org.

About the AMCP Foundation:
Established in 1990, the 501(c)3 nonprofit AMCP Foundation exists to advance collective knowledge and insights on major issues associated with the practice of pharmacy in managed health care settings. By facilitating innovative research initiatives and providing educational opportunities to learn about managed care pharmacy, the AMCP Foundation invests in the future of managed care. The Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy. www.amcpfoundation.org.

About PCORI
The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) is an independent, non-profit organization authorized by Congress in 2010. Its mission is to fund research that will provide patients, their caregivers and clinicians with the evidence-based information needed to make better-informed healthcare decisions. PCORI is committed to continuously seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work. www.pcori.org.