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AMCP Podcast Series — Melissa Schlaifer and Billy West
Show Notes
Health care expert Fred Goldstein, host of the AMCP Podcast Series — Listen Up!, sits down with Marissa Schlaifer and Billy West, AMCP Distinguished Service Award recipients, to discuss the role of AMCP in their careers.
Transcript
[SPEAKERS: Fred Goldstein, Marissa Shlaifer, and Billy West]
Fred Goldstein 00:01
Hello and welcome to the AMCP podcast series. Listen up as we take a deep dive into the challenges, trends and opportunities in managed care pharmacy, follow the show's social hashtag #AMCPListenUp. And to learn more about AMCP, visit amcp.org. I'm your host, Fred Goldstein. On today's show, my guests are Marissa Schlaifer and Billy West, recipients of the 2023 AMCP Distinguished Service Award. The award recognizes an AMCP member who has made exceptional and sustained contributions to the organization over at least a five-year period. So congratulations, and welcome, Marissa and Billy.
Billy West 00:41
Thanks, Fred.
Fred Goldstein 00:42
Oh, it's great to have you both on. Let's start with you. Marissa, how did you first become involved with AMCP.
Marissa Schlaifer 00:49
And when I first got involved with AMCP, many years ago, I think it was 1992 or 1993, I was working in managed care contracting for Eckerd drugs, which doesn't exist anymore. And someone suggested that I become involved in AMCP. One of my clients was involved in committees and suggested that I volunteer for our committee, and it's, it's gone from there.
Fred Goldstein 01:17
Fantastic. And you Billy,
Billy West 01:19
I started Sanford off as a student, getting involved in the student chapter of AMCP at Sanford University, and then because of that involvement, and going to the national meetings, saw the opportunity that was there to network and to contribute to the managed care pharmacy profession. And so got involved in committees after graduation and continue to try to give back over time.
Fred Goldstein 01:49
You both mentioned committees, so they really what committees have you been involved with? And what's that work been like?
Billy West 01:55
Mostly the Government Affairs Committees in early in my career, legislative regulatory action committee, or LRAC, the policy committee, which used to be called the legislative committee, I believe, and ultimately, those really got gave me a taste of policy, government policy governing affairs, and really learning how the inner workings of what do pharmacists and managed care stand for. And so those would have been the committees early in my career and then moved on to currently on the organizational affairs committee. So that's been an exciting change of pace from the government affairs, because again, you kind of know that now you're learning the inner workings of AMCP. And all the how do we, you know, operate with, you know, awards, and then the different productions that the academy is putting on for their membership.
Fred Goldstein 02:47
And you, Marissa?
Marissa Schlaifer 02:48
So my initial involvement was with committees that don't even exist anymore. Back in the mid-90s, late 90s, and early 2000s, I was on the strategic Strategic Development and Marketing Committee, which I later went on to chair, and then also was on the Education Committee, which I later chaired, then I left volunteer involvement with AMCP for about 10 years. And when coming back was involved with the Public Policy Committee, and then later the board.
Fred Goldstein 03:23
Yeah, it's fantastic to think about how important it is one, obviously, the education that AMCP provides, and, and overseeing some of that, but also this whole policy thing. We're seeing it now in DC, with so much going on around pharmacy policy and managed care. So I assume your input is really important, and to ultimately try and impact legislation to make it appropriate for the people that need the services.
Marissa Schlaifer 03:46
Exactly. I mean, AMCP does such a great job in that space. So being able to contribute, I think both Billy and I feel like the ability to contribute to what AMCP does in that space is very important and helps really make sure that managed care, pharmacy is serving patients. Well.
Fred Goldstein 04:06
And Marissa, understand you also worked for AMCP for some period of time as well, right here.
Marissa Schlaifer 04:11
Yeah, so when I was at the same time that I was chairing the Educational Affairs Committee, I was hired by AMCP to lead pharmacy affairs, which at that time was professional practice Regulatory Affairs Policy, that being the lead pharmacist on staff at AMCP. And so I resigned as chair of the Educational Affairs Committee to take a full-time position with AMCP and was there for 10 years but it let me take the work I was doing as a volunteer that I love doing and making it my full-time life for 10 years. So I really appreciated and valued the opportunity to have been involved with AMCP on both sides, both as a volunteer and as a staff member.
Fred Goldstein 04:58
Yeah, it's a great insight obviously, and the difference in how you impact the organization from either side, I guess.
Marissa Schlaifer 05:05
Definitely, you know, you grow from doing it. And, you know, our volunteers put in tremendous hours, but then you go to staff and it becomes your 24/7 live. So it's an ability to contribute in an even greater way. But what the volunteers do is so important,
Fred Goldstein 05:24
right? I mean, the organization can only get so much done, and then you have a ton of expertise out there in your membership. So why not bring that expertise in? So Billy, do you have a most interesting or valuable experience that you've had occur as a member of AMCP? In volunteering?
Billy West 05:42
Yeah, I think the most rewarding experience I have was actually chairing the policy committee. years ago, it was a unique situation for me, where essentially, I was, you know, typically you get appointed as the vice chair, and then the chair and then you kind of move on? Well, right. As I got appointed as vice chair, the person that was the chair would retire. And so I took her year, I took my year. And then for some reason, not for some reason, but basically to match the legislative cycles. I think the policy committee renewed every September when everything else typically renewed in April. Well, they want to align those. So then, again, an additional several months, leading that committee, so it was like almost a three-year stint of sharing policy. And, again, what was so valuable about that was just being you know, having your finger on the pulse of the industry, really trying to help shape and guide a group of your peers in managed care pharmacy to help determine and establish the position statements are AMCP that ultimately get approved by the Board, of course. But that was a special time in what I've, you know, considered this, you know, 20 years worth of volunteering at AMCP.
Fred Goldstein 07:00
And I can imagine having chaired committees at not for profit organization similar to AMCP, you were the first year as you said, as the vice chair is usually hey, I can learn it, I got it, but you were sort of thrown to the wolves, then you have the good year where you're doing it. And then it's like, well, this is so easy. Now I get a little bit extra at the end. Right.
Billy West 07:16
Exactly. It was a great experience. By the end, yeah, I felt like I was a pro.
Fred Goldstein 07:22
How about you, Marissa…
Marissa Schlaifer 07:24
Well, definitely the opportunity to serve as AMCP president was very special, not special in the same way that anyone else this year as president was special, in that I had the opportunity to be the COVID president for AMCP or to serve as president during the COVID year, so no conferences during my term as president, or any in-person board meetings, but really had the chance to get involved in different ways, because so many of the decisions that were made that year, decisions to cancel conferences, decisions on what federal loans to go after and decisions that really influenced the fiscal stability of the organization where we never met in person, but our board probably met more often than any other AMCP Board has. And it was just really, you know, that focused on how do we serve members when we're not together in person. And then that was, of course, also the year that we all spent a lot of time thinking about how AMCP should focus on racial inequities and health disparities, and really had the opportunity to help kick off the work that AMCP has done in that space and that future presidents have continued.
Fred Goldstein 08:47
Yeah, I imagine that was quite the transition years, you're trying to figure all this stuff out. And at the same time, obviously, it's an organization supporting managed care pharmacy, which was such a critical piece of COVID. To begin with, getting that information out I'm sure was major.
Marissa Schlaifer 09:01
Yeah, definitely. I mean, the staff did an incredible job at that, during that period of time of taking in, you know, best practices from members sharing that with other members, and making sure that, you know, patients were able to get the medications, they need the vaccinations they need. And during that time, you know, states, whether it was governors, state Boards of Pharmacy, the federal government, HHS, CMS, FDA were issuing new guidance is every day. So there was so much for staff to keep up with.
Fred Goldstein 09:35
Wow, you both have a wealth of experience, both in pharmacy world, managed care, and obviously with AMCP. What would you recommend to people who are just starting out at AMCP? Or what they might want to think about and how they should get involved? Maybe you first, Billy?
Billy West 09:51
Sure.I think that you have to have that mindset of wanting to give back or to pay it forward. You have to add that, you know, again, the desire to want to help educate the future of managed care pharmacy, as well as contribute to your peers and always have said it to those that listen, it's so much better to be in the game than on the sidelines to actually have the ability to influence and be part of the solution rather than just complaining about the problems. And so if you want to get involved in AMCP, if you're in the student level of experience, get involved in your student chapter. And then as you move into your the early parts of your career, a lot of success, and a lot of the leaders in AMCP currently have dabbled in the regional affiliates, you can test your, you know, your leadership skills out as a regional affiliate member, and then even beyond their board and committees, etc. And, again, the networking that allows you to show what you've gotten who you are, and the ability to influence there, then progresses into the National Committee membership and leadership, as well as getting involved wherever you can in the AMCP program. So there's, you know, there's the ability to be a mentor, there's advocacy leaders per state, and a lot of other ways that again, that AMCP the organization keeps track of your involvement, so that they can, you know, keep accountable for that so that you can, when you do apply for committees, and you do apply for other opportunities, they see the work that you've done, and it gets recognized. So I think that's how you probably get involved is, you know, start off slow and work your way into what your network
Fred Goldstein 11:46
And anything you'd like to add, Marissa?
Marissa Schlaifer 11:48
No, I think Billy did a great job. I'll just mention a couple other things. In addition to all the ways Billy mentioned, you know JAMCP, serving as a peer reviewer, for the journal, volunteering for the booth at conferences, volunteering as a moderator at conferences, there's other ways to get involved other than committees. But I would say, you know, there's both opportunities to pick and volunteer for a committee that builds on your strength, you're obviously more likely to get selected for a committee if you can show good reason, you know, if you've had some policy experience, when you volunteer for the policy committee, you're more likely to get chosen. But you can also really learn from your committee involvement. I think, going back to my very first committee involvement, and obviously, I was much younger than and less experienced than in my job. But the first time I ever learned what a SWOT analysis was, it was serving on the Strategic Development Committee for AMCP. And Craig Stern had to as the committee was going into that work had to teach me what a SWOT analysis was. So I think that just you know, committees are both contributing, but also learning from everything you get out of being on a committee. And as Billy said, it, it's the people you get to volunteer with that are the best part.
Fred Goldstein 13:04
So Billy, you've worked in several managed care environments, from health plans to PBMs for your career, what are the challenges you face serving AMCP in those various stops as you've gone through your career?
Billy West 13:14
Yeah, the key is to have the support of the people that are giving you the opportunity to be involved, if you don't have the support again, you know, when? Right now, I currently work for Amgen, and I have the ability to take the time out of our work schedule to lead the Organizational Affairs Committee. And so I think that's the key is, is to help your employer to understand, you know, that, that you are trying to contribute to make things, you know, make things better, and you know, make your give back to your profession. And to find that, that that boss or that leader that supports that, I think that's going to be key to have success, to be a successful leader and AMCP. And I've seen several people struggle at times in different organizations and different times in their parts of their career, etc, getting that level of support. And I've watched their ability to contribute to AMCP, you know, wax and wane based on that level. So I think that's probably the key is to truly find those supportive managers find the supportive organizations and help them to understand the value of it, because in each of the areas that, you know, that I've worked in, there's been a different level of value placed on our involvement in AMCP. And it's evolved over time. Each one of those has evolved over the course of my of my tenure there. And again, in the end, I think everyone saw that value in different degrees.
Fred Goldstein 14:52
Now, let's go to what's next. Now that you both been recognized for the Distinguished Service Award, how do you plan to dedicate your time And what are you going to do in terms of focusing your energy in managed care pharmacy? Perhaps you first Marissa?
Marissa Schlaifer 15:06
Yeah, I think my committee involvement right now, my AMCP current involvement. Last year was chair of the nominations committee, and this year is a member of the leadership development committee. So I'm very focused on where are the next leaders who are the future board members for AMCP. And so really thinking very strategically, is one of the things that committees doing this year is how do we make sure that we have a board that is very represent very, represents very well, the AMCP membership, and where we hope to go for the future. So I'm really excited about the future leaders of AMCP and want to be there to both help people learn from my experience, but also take that go in our own tap and take AMCP in the direction, that they see it should go. So I guess, you know, it's really a shout-out. If anyone's interested in running for the board, we'd love to talk to them. So please, please reach out if you have any interest.
Fred Goldstein 16:09
And you ,Billy?
Billy West 16:11
Yeah, shameless plug for the board here, Marissa, I definitely think that's probably the next level of involvement that I'd like to explore. But also in the, you know, in the experience that I do have, I've really enjoyed mentoring students and young professionals, helping them to find a way through, you know, navigate the managed care, not only the career paths that you can go on, but also just even the academy itself. And so working through those pieces and trying to volunteer to help people, you know, to be successful in that, in that respect, is where I think I'm gonna continue to spend my time, as well as again, potentially, you know, looking to increase my involvement where possible.
Fred Goldstein 16:55
Well, congratulations to both of you for being recipients of the award. Thanks for all your efforts on behalf of AMCP and the organization. And thank you for coming on the show.
Billy West 17:07
Thanks, Fred I appreciate it.
Marissa Schlaifer 17:08
Thanks, Fred.
Fred Goldstein 17:10
And thank you for joining us today. If you liked the show, you can find all our episodes at amcp.org/podcast on our show page at HealthcareNOWRadio.com or on your favorite listening platform by searching "Healthcare NOW Radio." You can follow our show's social hashtag at #AMCPListenUp. And don't forget to share, like, and follow @AMCPorg on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. I'm Fred Goldstein for AMCP. Until next time.
About the Hosts
Fred Goldstein is the founder and president of Accountable Health, LLC, a healthcare consulting firm focused on population health, health system redesign, new technologies and analytics. He has over 30 years of experience in population health, disease management, HMO, and hospital operations. Fred is an Instructor at the John D. Bower School of Population Health at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and the editorial Board of the journal Population Health Management.
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