2016 Technology Innovator of the Year Finalists

2016 Technology Innovator of the Year Finalists

As cofounder and chief operating officer of Flavma, Inc, dba iMedicare, Matthew Johnson’s company serves more than 4000 pharmacies, saving Medicare patients an estimated $287.5 million in 2015 alone.

GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS

In 2012, I cofounded a pharmacy software company while still enrolled in pharmacy school and released a Medicare Part D comparison tool that reduced a 30-minute process to less than a minute, so pharmacists were able to help more patients.

SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

Discovering pharmacists’ biggest pain points—the daily frustrations that cost efficiency and diminish their ability to exercise their clinical skills.

PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY

When there is great uncertainty in any industry, there is significant opportunity to transform it.

VISION FOR PHARMACY

Machine learning and artificial intelligence will help to fully automate dispensing operations and routine clinical decisions in the community pharmacy setting. Technology will not replace pharmacists, but will increase expectations of their clinical and counseling skills.

Known to his listeners as “Pharmacy Joe,” Joseph Muench brings his knowledge of pharmacy to a broader audience using his podcast, “The Elective Rotation.” He has also created an online community for pharmacists that allows them to communicate with each other through real-time messaging.

GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS

My greatest achievement in pharmacy is leading my hospital pharmacy department to respond to medical emergencies and code blues within the hospital.

SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

I’m inspired by the quote by R.J. Cipolle: “Drugs don’t have doses, people have doses.” I keep this in mind in all that I do for patients.

PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY

“Know what you don’t know.” However tempting it is to give an answer to every question, I first reflect if there may be any gaps in my knowledge; if there are, I seek to fill those gaps or at least be transparent about them in my answer to a question.

VISION FOR PHARMACY

I view the pharmacy profession as responsible for ensuring that patients and clinicians are able to use medications effectively and safely.

In 2006, Russel Allinson and his business partner founded Therigy with a vision of developing a software application to provide a pharmacy care management solution for specialty biotech products. Allinson has also written a book, Drug Abuse: Why It Happens and How to Prevent It.

GREATEST ACHIEVEMENTS

One of Therigy’s products, TherigySTM, has care management content for 19 diseases and contains more than 400 assessments. Approximately 125,000 patients, across nearly 125 pharmacies, have been managed using this application.

SOURCE OF INSPIRATION

My faith is an influence on everything I do, and my wife and family are the driving force behind my goals and everything I have accomplished.

PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY

My personal philosophy is based on 2 ideas found in the gospels and the teachings of Jesus Christ: the concept of the Golden Rule and the concept of servant leadership.

VISION FOR PHARMACY

My vision for the profession is for pharmacists to leverage their knowledge of drugs and understanding of patient needs to ensure the safe and effective use of medications to achieve positive outcomes.