Pharmacy Times Names Troy Trygstad New Editor-In-Chief

PLAINSBORO, N.J. (PRWEB) March 14, 2016

Pharmacy Times, the leading media resource for pharmacists and the pharmacy industry, today announced that Troy Trygstad will become editor-in-chief, effective immediately. Trygstad takes the reins from Editor-in-Chief Fred M. Eckel, RPh, MS, ScD (Hon), who also announced his retirement today, capping more than three decades with the publication.

Based in the Raleigh-Durham area, Trygstad will guide the editorial direction of the industry’s most-read publication among pharmacists and pharmacy professionals. His mission is to ensure that Pharmacy Times continues to deliver practical information pharmacists can use in their everyday practice.

“It’s an honor to pass the baton to Troy, who is a part of my pharmacy family,” said Eckel who, as executive director of the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists, worked with Trygstad and also taught him at the University of North Carolina, Eshelman School of Pharmacy. “I know he will continue to challenge our readers to become engaged in pharmacists’ contributions to bringing value to health care results, improving chronic disease management, and taking responsibility for patients’ drug therapy outcomes.”

Brian Haug, president of the managed markets, pharmacy, and rare disease franchises of Michael J. Hennessy Associates Inc., which publishes Pharmacy Times, added, “With Troy and Fred already having a long-standing background together, it’s going to be a smooth transition with Fred retiring from Pharmacy Times as one of the industry’s most respected and leading voices. We’re extremely grateful for all he has done to advance the role of the pharmacist in every issue of Pharmacy Times during the last 30 years and wish him the best in retirement.”

Trygstad is vice president of pharmacy programs for Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC), an organization that works collaboratively with more than 1,800 medical practices across 100 North Carolina counties to improve quality and reduce costs for approximately 1.6 million Medicaid, Medicare, commercial and uninsured patients. Under his direction, multidisciplinary medication optimization programs have grown to include patient-level medication reconciliation, the adoption of health information technology by medical practices in the CCNC network, and network-level facilitation of pharmacy benefits. Trygstad is also the project director for a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation Center award testing new models of payment and collaboration between community pharmacies and primary care “medical homes.” He still practices in a community pharmacy setting on nights and weekends.

“Troy will help us usher in a new era of change for pharmacists,” said Haug. “As a practicing community pharmacist, he is in the unique position of understanding frontline pharmacist challenges as they pertain to value-based care, health care delivery, and health care reform, all while having the trust of fellow pharmacist readers. Add in his history of catalyzing innovation, health services research background, and wit, and I’m confident Troy and the editorial staff at Pharmacy Times will continue to create valuable, forward-leaning and engaging content for our readers while maintaining the highest standards of journalistic integrity.”

About Pharmacy Times

Pharmacy Times is the leading media resource for pharmacists and the pharmacy industry, providing practical clinical and professional information pharmacists can use in their everyday practices when counseling patients and interacting with other health care providers. Each issue and the website contain articles and features covering industry trends, medication errors, drug interactions, patient education, disease state management, patient counseling, product news, pharmacy law and more. Additionally, Pharmacy Times Continuing Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. Pharmacy Times is part of Michael J. Hennessy Associates Inc., a full-service health care communications company offering education, research and medical media.