AMCP and AMCP Foundation Honor Distinguished Members at Annual Awards Dinner

PRESS RELEASE

San Diego, Calif., April 10, 2014 — The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) and the AMCP Foundation recognized several of managed care pharmacy’s most distinguished leaders for their contributions to the advancement of the profession and/or the Academy. The honored members were announced April 8 at the Annual Awards Dinner of AMCP's 27th Annual Meeting & Expo in San Diego.

“Once a year AMCP and the AMCP Foundation pause to recognize the achievements of outstanding individuals who represent the very best of managed care pharmacy,” said Edith A. Rosato, RPh, IOM, AMCP's CEO and Chairman of the AMCP Foundation. “We owe a debt of gratitude to these leaders for their contributions to advancing the Academy, managed care pharmacy and health care quality and affordability.”

Taking home the profession’s highest award was Albert L. Carver, the recipient of the 2015 AMCP Foundation Steven G. Avey Award for sustained, exemplary and distinguished service to the profession of managed care pharmacy.

Carver is one of the founding members of the Academy. He has served on advisory boards of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacies, University of California, San Francisco and the Oregon State University School of Pharmacy and is a long-time member and leader of the California Society of Health-System Pharmacists and California Pharmacists Association. During his career at Kaiser Permanente, Carver was a pioneer in recognizing the computer’s potential for transforming health care delivery. At Kaiser he introduced the first pharmacy computers and the first electronic medication administration record. Carver led the development of highly effective ambulatory care programs for monitoring patients with chronic diseases and pharmacy’s successful adaptation of EPIC’s Electronic Medical Record program. He also supported the launch of Kaiser’s Pharmacy Outcomes Research Group and expansion of its Drug Information Services.

Receiving the AMCP Distinguished Service Award was David Calabrese, RPh, MHP, Vice President, Clinical Services & Chief Pharmacy Officer at Catamaran, for his exceptional and sustained contributions to AMCP over at least a five-year period. Calabrese was a member of the AMCP Board of Directors from 2012 to 2014, during which time he was active in the membership, public policy and educational affairs committees. Previously, he served on the Program Planning and Development Committee.

The AMCP Fellow Designee Award recognizes sustained excellence in the pharmacy profession, including exceptional contributions, long-term commitment and active participation in the Academy. This year’s designee is Mitzi Wasik, PharmD, FCCP, Director of Medicare Pharmacy Clinical Programs at Aetna. She has served on the faculty of Ferris State University, Western Michigan University and University of Illinois at Chicago in the College of Pharmacy. She’s been an active member of various AMCP committees and was a member of the AMCP Board of Directors.

Receiving the Grassroots Advocacy Award for significant contributions to a grassroots cause is Kathryn L. Jonsrud, RPh, of The Burchfield Group. Jonsrud has had a distinguished career in managed care pharmacy, taking on leadership roles in the Academy, academia and business. She has organized regional and national efforts to affect public policy important to managed care pharmacy, including e-prescribing, e-prior authorization, Medicaid policy and pharmacy audits.

The AMCP Spirit of Volunteerism Award was presented to Peter M. Penna, PharmD, for his exemplary and outstanding service over the past year as chair of the AMCP Format Executive Committee. Penna is founding member of the Academy and co-founder of Formulary Resources, LLC.

The AMCP Individual Contribution Award was awarded to Glenn Y. Yokoyama, PharmD, BCSHP, FAPhA, associate adjunct professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco, for his service as faculty advisor of the university’s AMCP student pharmacist chapter.

The JMCP Award for Excellence for the best article of 2014 was awarded to Sara Carruth Erickson, PharmD; R. Scott Leslie, MPH; and Bimal V Patel, PharmD, MS, for their November 2014 article, “Is There an Association Between the High-Risk Medication Star Ratings and Member Experience CMS Star Ratings Measure?” All work in the health outcomes research division of MedImpact Healthcare Systems.

Receiving Honorable Mention for the JMCP Award for Excellence were two sets of authors:

• Michele M. Spence, PhD, Abir F. Makarem, PharmD, Stacie L. Reyes, PharmD, Lisa L. Rosa, PharmD, Courtney Nguyen, BA, Elizabeth A. Oyekan, PharmD, and Alan T. Kiyohara, PharmD, for “Evaluation of an outpatient pharmacy clinical services program on adherence and clinical outcomes among patients with diabetes and/or coronary artery disease”
• Sai Dharmarajan, MS, John P. Bentley, PhD, Benjamin F. Banahan III, PhD, and Donna S. West-Strum, PhD, for “Measuring Pharmacy Performance in the Area of Medication Adherence: Addressing the Issue of Risk Adjustment”