Congratulations to 40 Under 40 Winner: Kerri Musselman, Vice President of Pharmacy Care Solutions, Emcara Health
Get To Know Kerri:
Age (as of December 31, 2023): 39
Hometown: Emporia, VA
Alma Matter: University of Kentucky (undergrad), Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy
Number of Years of Experience in Healthcare: 15 as practicing pharmacist, 20 including pharmacy technician/pharmacy intern role
Someone You Look Up to in the Industry: Hae Mi Choe, PharmD
Favorite Hobby: Reading books, spending time with my children and family
Favorite Movie of All-Time: Encanto
Your Favorite thing about healthcare: Ability to impact a patient’s overall well-being and quality of life
Why is this candidate a good fit for 40 under 40?
Kerri Musselman is a passionate clinical leader, researcher, and advocate for the role of pharmacy in primary care, including, most recently, pharmacy’s integration into advanced in-home primary care models. As demonstrated throughout this application, Kerri’s commitment to supporting innovative and effective ways to increase medication access for all patients is a thread throughout her 15-year career. Today, Kerri is the Vice President of Pharmacy Care Solutions at Emcara Health and PopHealthCare, where she is part of a team of clinical specialists, social workers and community health workers that deliver care to patients in their homes. As part of her role, Kerri collaborates with patients and their care teams to conduct comprehensive medication reviews and provide medication management. And since the services are delivered from the patient’s home, Kerri has a better picture of the medications patients take, how often, and subsequent drug interactions. In one case, Kerri found a patient was taking at least 31 medications. Unfortunately, one medication interacted with all the medications taken at the same time. With this knowledge, Kerri worked with the patient’s care team – including specialists and primary care – to discontinue several medications, including the interacting drug. Kerri also worked directly with the patient to define a medication dosing schedule to avoid the interaction and improve blood pressure control over time. By collaborating with patient care teams, Kerri simplifies patient medication regimens and reduces the strain on physician resources. In turn, this helps shift the conversation around what’s possible when pharmacists work at the top of their license and collaborate with other clinicians to provide comprehensive, patient-centered care wherever care is delivered.
Explain this candidate’s professional accomplishments
While working as Director of Pharmacy for Bon Secours Medical Group, Kerri designed, executed, and led pharmacist integration in a practice setting employing more than 800 physicians. The pharmacy team provided comprehensive medication review and Medicare Annual Wellness Visits (AWV) starting in 2012, when AWV were a newer concept from CMS. Under Kerri’s supervision, pharmacists also assisted with chronic disease state management utilizing Collaborative Practice Agreements (CPAs), transitions of care, and clinician consults – making pharmacy a go-to resource across the practice for drug information questions and complex medication cases. By embracing and leveraging the pharmacist CPA, the pharmacists in the physician offices were able to practice at the top of their license, training, and scope to implement, discontinue, continue, and modify drug therapy as well as order laboratory values to assist with the management of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and anticoagulation. Further, during her tenure at Bon Secours Medical Group, she implemented a purchasing program for physician practices, utilizing a vaccine purchasing program, inventory management, compliant 340b child site purchasing, and developed the standards for a physician office-based Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee (P&T). She also utilized pharmacy technicians to the top of their licensure and scope by implementing a medication refill program, prescription assistance program and medication adherence outreach to patients. More recently, during her tenure as Pharmacy Director of Ambulatory Practice and Medication Management at Bon Secours Mercy Health, Kerri pivoted the operational model for Medication Management Clinics to virtual, telephonic as well as drive-thru services to provide life-saving therapies to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. She helped re-design, develop, and implement a specialty medication service program for the health system utilizing a pharmacist CPA model for conditions such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Crohn’s Disease, among others. This program was a partnership between clinic-based models, hospital outpatient departments, the health system operated specialty pharmacy and Human Resources benefit team. She expanded the service and model throughout two states during her tenure, adapting the program to the specific state’s pharmacist scope of practice.
How does the candidate show commitment to the industry and bettering their professional career?
There are several ways in which Kerri has demonstrated her commitment to improving the broader healthcare industry she works in, as well as her professional career. For example, Kerri partnered with the VCU Center for Pharmacy Practice Innovation to conduct research demonstrating the clinical and business case for integrating pharmacists into physician practices. The first, Return-On-Investment for Billable Pharmacist-Provided Services in the Primary Care Setting (https://bit.ly/3BOymOT), was conducted to determine if it could achieve a positive ROI for billable pharmacist services. The research identified a potential positive ROI of 1.6 to 1 and several significant opportunities for providers to capture revenue for pharmacist services. Another research project, Identifying Training Needs and Active Information Opportunities in Primary Care Through the Analysis of Drug Information Requests (https://bit.ly/3ICmraD), used the analysis of drug information requests received by primary care pharmacists within Bon Secours to identify training opportunities within the medical group. A third research initiative, presented at the American College of Clinical Pharmacology, focused on the impact of pharmacy services on diabetes and hypertension management (https://bit.ly/42WFxQR). The goal was to understand what clinical pharmacy services would be associated with quality measurement for blood pressure control, glycemic control, and annual eye/foot exams – all critical for diabetes care management. The last and most recent research initiative published in July 2023 by the National Institute of Health, Oncologists’ Responsibility, Comfort, And Knowledge Managing Hyperglycemia In Patients With Cancer Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Cross Sectional Study, lays the groundwork for future studies and follow up on how oncologists can partner with primary care pharmacists to better support diabetic patients undergoing cancer treatments. (https://bit.ly/43lAeK6) Kerri has received several awards for her involvement in the pharmacy profession, including Virginia Pharmacists Association (VPhA) Illene B. Stiff Local Association President Award, 2014 Excellence in Innovation Award (awarded by VPhA), Outstanding Preceptor Award from VCU School of Pharmacy (precepting 4th year student pharmacists during rotations), APhA-APPM Presentation Merit Award in Innovative Practice and the VPhA Academy of New Practitioners “10 under 10”, Class of 2014. Further demonstrating her commitment to bettering her industry, in 2017, Kerri joined the board of RxPartnership, a non-profit dedicated to improving access to medications for those in need. She was elected and served as chair of the board from 2021-2023.
