2014 Rising Star of the Year Finalists

Rising Star of the Year

Michael Crowe envisions all pharmacists going beyond the counter as advocates for pharmacy, ensuring that standards for pharmacy in the future are higher than those of today.

Dr. Crowe’s work in establishing the Genesee County Pharmacists’ Association, a local network of pharmacy professionals in Genessee County, Michigan, created awareness of the need for pharmacy advocacy. The association has grown from fewer than 80 members to more than 200 members, and provides legislative breakfasts, continuing education programs, and networking opportunities.

Dr. Crowe’s commitment goes beyond organizing activities, however, as he’s made it his duty to create weekly newsletters, create and maintain the association’s website, and oversee association meetings.

Acknowledging the business side of pharmacy, Dr. Crowe earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan so that he could better understand and integrate business principles into pharmacy practice.

He teaches as an adjunct assistant professor of clinical pharmacy at the Ferris State College University of Pharmacy, and also serves as a member of the Michigan Pharmacy Political Action Council. His active involvement in Michigan’s legislative arena is something he imparts to the students and residents he precepts as an important part of the profession.

“(Dr.) Crowe also serves as a role model for new practitioners, advocating for the importance of professional involvement and giving back to the profession,” his nomination read. “(Dr.) Crowe not only serves as a preceptor for students and residents, but also created and precepts a Professional Development Learning Experience, in which residents contribute at a local, state, and national level, through publications, leadership roles, and community engagement programs.”

As clinical technology manager at Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy, Dr. Crowe works closely with clinical services and business stakeholders, determining the data collected and the collection method. Dr. Crowe is also responsible for determining how the data is used to demonstrate positive outcomes within the specialty pharmacy arena.

CAPT Rohin Kasudia’s goals of improving patient safety, pharmacy operations, and pharmacist interventions have guided him in his practice in the Air Force.

Although he’s practiced for 3-and-a-half years since his 2010 graduation from pharmacy school, CAPT Kasudia spearheaded many projects that improved patient safety and exceeded standards.

He has held the positions of pharmacy graduate researcher, staff pharmacist, interim outpatient pharmacy chief, inpatient pharmacy chief, satellite pharmacy officer in charge, and executive officer to the hospital commander.

His success began in advance of his graduation. As the recipient of a $4000 research grant, CAPT Kasudia studied a novel salicyclic acid derivative’s effects on the circulatory system, which resulted in a published abstract. His work helped his college’s research team pioneer a novel clonidine analogue for treatment of hemorrhagic shock, an achievement that resulted the college awarding him its Distinguished Research Achievement Award.

CAPT Kasudia’s successes continued in the Air Force, as he launched the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base hospital’s antimicrobial stewardship committee. The committee allied with 3 Veteran’s Health Administration hospitals to create a protocol that cut ICU morbidity by 19.4%, and saved $40,000 in antibiotics annually. CAPT Kasudia’s efforts also helped the hospital cut its treatment and labs by 50%, which saved $1.3 million.

His plan for centralized drug ordering between 2 pharmacies reduced medication outages by 60%, which helped avoid $175,000 in medication waste. He re-engineered 4 inpatient processes and created a medication reconciliation program for new admissions and discharges. These programs helped the hospital receive a top rating for Inpatient Patient Satisfaction from the Department of Defense.

As the inpatient pharmacy chief at the base, CAPT Kasudia’s attention to detail fixed 11 hospital processes, and prevented 452 drug errors.

“Incredibly, his team’s patient safety improvements resulted in the hospital commander (CEO equivalent) personally coming to the inpatient pharmacy and presenting a patient safety award certificate to each staff member. Ultimately, the pharmacy became the number 1 patient safety leader for the hospital.”

For Samuel Stolpe, PharmD, quality failures do not result from a single person or incident. Instead, the associate director of quality initiatives with the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) focuses on enhancing pharmacy operations to improve care quality.

As a result, Dr. Stolpe dedicates himself to promoting improvements to pharmacy operations and specializes in innovations that drive quality.

Those improvements include driving the adoption of the appointment-based model of medication synchronization by implementing Pharmacy Quality Alliance’s medication synchronization initiative. The initiative engaged 9 pharmacy chains—totaling more than 1000 stores—to implement programs and pilots using the appointment-based model.

Dr. Stolpe’s prowess extends to pharmacy executives and frontline staff, as he created and conducted appointment-based model workshops and trainings for both pharmacies and health plans.

“Sam’s vision for the future of pharmacy is qualityfocused,” his nomination read. “Sam has made an impressive effort to share this vision to the rising generation of pharmacy practitioners through a number of mechanisms, including leading the PQA Academic Affairs Committee, creation of the PQA Fellowship and APPE program, and the implementation of his Health Policy elective at Howard University.”

Dr. Stolpe’s involvement with future pharmacists in the elective he teaches stresses the importance of hands-on engagement, with trips to Capitol Hill, the District of Columbia Board of Pharmacy, and local pharmacy associations.

“Sam’s work is truly redefining the role of pharmacy in health care,” his nomination read. “I’ve watched Sam evolve from a promising student to a pharmacy leader, continually impressed at the depth of his understanding of the health care landscape, his drive to learn and contribute, to teach and inspire, to comprehend and innovate.”

In his 3-and-a-half years of practice, Dr. Stolpe has become a champion for medication adherence, calling it a “core competency” for pharmacy practice, and one the profession should own.