ROCK SPRINGS — Chief Clinical Officer Kari Quickenden of Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County is invited to participate as a member of the American Hospital Association’s Pharmacy and Drug Policy Work Group.
Quickenden told MHSC, “It is an exceptional honor to serve on this work group with pharmacy leaders from across the country. It is an opportunity as a rural healthcare facility to voice the unique challenges we face.”
The group is a group of 10-15 pharmacy leaders from different locations and different types and sizes of pharmacies. The group is made to take on new challenges the pharmacy world is faced with from the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act to coverage of GLP-1 drugs to 340B program reforms. These acts have made the pharmacy and drug space a critical point of policy debate over recent years and the group will help the AHA advocate for policies that are in the best interests of the hospitals and the communities they serve.
Bharath Krishnamurthy, Director of Health Analytics and Policy at the AHA, said, “We anticipate that pharmacy and drug pricing issues will be key focus areas for both Congress and the Administration over the next several years where the hospital voice will be critical in shaping future policy.”
The AHA’s goal in their work is:
- Identify pharmacy and drug policy issues that the group should be engaged in and help educate AHA staff.
- Proved advice and guidance on key pharmacy and drug policy issues that are critical to hospitals and the communities they serve.
- Help facilitate and strengthen partnerships between the AHA and local, state, and national pharmacy groups.
- Assist communication that impacts these issues by promoting AHA research and reports, answering surveys, and participating in webinars, meetings, and conferences when needed.
