Submitted by the WSU AMCP student chapter

Managed care pharmacy continues to exponentially develop at Wayne State University's Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The college added an AMCP (Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy) student chapter three years ago. Since then, WSU AMCP members have garnered many accolades while promoting increased awareness about managed care pharmacy. The most recent achievement comes in the form of a new managed care elective course that will be offered to third-year pharmacy students during the upcoming fall 2022 semester.

"I'm ecstatic about the impact that our AMCP student chapter has had on the student body," said Fadi Manuel, incoming Health Economics & Outcomes Research/Market Access Fellow at AESARA. Manuel has been integral in the establishment of the student AMCP chapter at WSU and was heavily involved in the course development and recruitment of guest speakers. He also led WSU to a second-place finish in the prestigious AMCP P&T competition in the college's debut in April 2021. "There are a variety of opportunities in pharmacy and I'm excited that students will be able to learn about managed care pharmacy. It is an area that is an integral part of pharmacy and it is important that students are gaining exposure to it."

The new managed care elective will cover topics such as prescription drug benefit, formulary management, specialty pharmacy, drug use evaluation, outcomes research and pharmacoeconomics, and will also highlight the key roles that pharmacists can play in managed care pharmacy.

"When I started pharmacy school, I was not familiar with managed care. The only career paths I knew for pharmacists were in the community or hospital settings," said Joseph Paul Javier, president of Wayne State's AMCP chapter and recipient of this year's prestigious AMCP Midwest scholarship for leadership achievement and educational initiatives focused on managed care. "However, after getting involved in AMCP, I've learned that work in managed care is very important in health care. Optimizing medication therapy and ensuring effective and economical health care for patients is what managed care pharmacists do. I am excited that WSU Applebaum is expanding its curriculum to expose students to this important field within our profession."

The course will be led by Dr. Insaf Mohammad, assistant clinical professor of pharmacy practice with a shared position as an ambulatory care pharmacist at Beaumont Hospital Dearborn. "The course will provide an overview of managed care pharmacy and an understanding of how managed care pharmacy impacts the health care system," said Mohammad, who continues to demonstrate exceptional leadership qualities and phenomenal student empowerment at the college. "I'm most excited about being able to offer an elective to our students that will help prepare them for a growing field in pharmacy. This course offers hands-on experiences, projects, and networking with managed care and pharmaceutical industry pharmacists to explore the role managed care pharmacy can play in a variety of settings."

President-Elect of WSU AMCP Jackie Fleury agreed, saying, "The managed care route provides pharmacy students with the opportunity to work in so many different facets to optimize patients' medication regimens, health care costs, and overall quality of life ranging from jobs focused on prior authorizations and formulary management to medication errors and drug utilization reviews. The exposure to the field while we are still deciding our career paths is an amazing opportunity that students should capitalize on."

By course completion, students will obtain knowledge of managed care pharmacy that can be a valuable preparation for career opportunities in a variety of practice settings, including managed care organization, hospital administration, ambulatory care setting, pharmaceutical industry and community pharmacy management.

Incoming P3 students who are interested in gaining a foundational understanding of managed care pharmacy are encouraged to enroll. Please contact Karen Gessler at karen.gessler@wayne.edu for more information and enrollment details.

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An anchor in urban health care

The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is built on more than 100 years of tradition and innovation in the heart of Detroit. We have grown deep roots in our city, harnessing its powerhouse hospital systems and community service organizations as vibrant, real-world training grounds for students, with an ongoing focus on social justice in health care. And our research at all levels - from undergraduates to veteran faculty members - translates into creative solutions for healthier communities.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering approximately 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 25,000 students.