July 2022 Diplomat Spotlight: Brenden O’Hara RPh, BCACP

Diplomat at Campbell University School of Pharmacy
 

How did you become involved in AMCP?  
In one of my previous jobs, we had a new CEO who hosted a meet and greet. She asked about our interests, and I talked about my work within the profession (state and national), and she mentioned AMCP. I honestly knew nothing about it at the time, so I went back to my desk and googled it. It seemed to match nicely with my professional focus, so I joined and have been an active member ever since. 

What interested you the most about managed care and ultimately led you to pursue a career in managed care pharmacy?  
In one of my previous positions, we began working with managed Medicaid in other states. I knew what role pharmacists could play in improving outcomes, but this was my first exposure to contracts that reimbursed pharmacists for improving member outcomes! After that, I was hooked and have transitioned my career focus/ trajectory ever since then. 

What was your first job or position in managed care?  
Director of Provider Engagement at Physicians Pharmacy Alliance in Cary, NC. I have always had a knack for dealing with challenging customers. I worked with the CMO to address concerns from providers regarding the process we had for onboarding new patients. It could be challenging to a provider/ practice, so it was a lot of “fire extinguishing” in that position. 

What does a typical day or week look like in your current role?  
Currently, I work with our Value Based programs at Blue Cross NC (Blue Premier.) I work with our partners and other pharmacists within those systems to help them identify opportunities to improve quality and cost of care. A typical week is attending/ running meetings to facilitate conversations with Blue Premier partners or preparing information/ data to share in these meetings. 

What interactions have you had with your AMCP student chapter or school of pharmacy?  
Campbell does not have a student chapter. This makes for a great opportunity to educate faculty, staff, and students on the role of pharmacists in non-traditional practices like managed care. We have presented to the faculty on managed care and developed a managed care elective at the school. 

Words of advice?  
Really in many aspects of my professional life, I follow a few maxims. One of the biggest is “Meet people where they are.” 

Being a diplomat for Campbell, they did not have a focus on managed care, and the faculty was going through a syllabus change. It was not the time to push to have a student AMCP chapter. BUT we were able to get them to agree to an elective, presentations to the faculty, and expanded student precepting. This is the start of a grassroots effort where we show future pharmacists the opportunities in managed care, and then they push to gain even more knowledge and potentially request a chapter.