Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Installs New President-Elect, AMCP Directors

The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) today installed David Clark as AMCP's 2010-2011 President-elect. The Academy also welcomed Babette Edgar, Bill Francis and Raulo Frear as three new members of the AMCP Board of Directors. The individuals, along with the continuing AMCP Board members, were sworn in April 9 at AMCP's 22nd Annual Meeting & Showcase in San Diego, Calif (see also Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy AMCP).

The following is some information on the new Academy officers. PRESIDENT-ELECT David L. Clark, President, RegenceRx, Vice President, Regence David Clark has many years of pharmacy leadership experience. As President of RegenceRx and Vice President of Regence, he has been responsible for developing numerous pharmacy programs, including a nationally recognized evidence-based medication review program. Clark previously held leadership positions at Intermountain Health Care.

Among his work promoting managed care pharmacy nationally, he has served on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's (AHRQ's) Effective Healthcare Stakeholder Group, was a member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association National Council of Physician Executives, and was appointed by HHS to a Medicare Commission that developed ways to coordinate state pharmaceutical assistance programs with the Medicare prescription drug benefit.

An AMCP member since 1996, Clark has served on the Academy's Board of Directors as well as multiple task forces and committees. As President-elect and President of the Academy, Clark says he will work to further identify and document practice innovations that are leading the way to better health care management regionally and nationally. "Together, we will bring this information to government and business leaders, helping them understand the vital role we play in delivering health care today, and in the future," he says. DIRECTOR: Babette Edgar, Senior Vice President, Operations & Quality Assurances, Gorman Health Group Babette Edgar's career has encompassed academia, the PBM industry, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), direct patient care and consulting. At CMS, she helped bring managed care principles to government thinking. Edgar now helps companies to prepare for Medicare Part D changes and health care reform.

As an AMCP Director, Edgar plans to ensure the Academy and its membership anticipates and prepares for any eventual change. "It means keeping our ear close to the ground on the Hill to anticipate Medicare Part D changes, following reimbursement and pricing issues, staying on top of new biotechnology advances and drug importation issues, and anticipating changes with medication therapy management best practices, to name a few," she adds. DIRECTOR: Bill Francis, Director of Pharmacy, University Physicians Health Plans Bill Francis is Director of Pharmacy at University Physicians Health Plans, a managed Medicaid plan in Arizona. He has more than 30 years of pharmacy practice experience, including 18 years within managed care settings. Prior to joining UPH Health Plans, he worked in the PBM industry and with government funded health care programs, including managed Medicaid and Medicare plans.

He has been an active member of AMCP since 1994, and has served in various capacities, including as chairman of the Special Projects Committee, a JMCP peer reviewer and member of the Program Planning and Development Committee. Francis says AMCP must continue to position itself as the primary source for unbiased information for the efficient, efficacious and cost effective delivery of pharmaceutical care. "As Medicare Part D continues to develop, we are positioned to influence the scope and success of this program." DIRECTOR: Raulo Frear, Pharm.D., Director of Pharmacy Services, The Regence Group Raulo Frear's career spans more than 25 years in PBM, hospital and integrated health care settings. Before joining The Regence Group, he served as Vice President, Healthcare Services, Visante, Inc. and as Vice President, Clinical Evaluation & Policy at Express Scripts, Inc.

Among his work with AMCP, Frear has served as chairman of AMCP's Professional Practice Committee. Frear has worked for many years to advance the development of managed care pharmacy residency programs. He graduated from the University of California, San Francisco, and completed pharmacy residency training at the University of Michigan Hospitals. As an AMCP Director, Frear says he will advocate strongly for what he believes are the two major factors facing the Academy and its members in the coming years: (1) advocating for the managed care pharmacist and (2) training future managed care leaders.

Continuing AMCP officers are: Diana Brixner, associate professor and chair of the University of Utah's Department of Pharmacy Practice, Board Director; Doug Burgoyne, chief pharmacy officer, Prodigy Health, Board Director; Shawn Burke, regional vice president, Pharmacy Services, Coventry Health Care, Immediate Past President; Judy Cahill, executive director of AMCP; Board Secretary John Jones, senior vice president of professional practice & pharmacy policy, Prescription Solutions, Board Director; Brian Sweet, chief pharmacy officer of WellPoint, AMCP President About AMCP The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) is a national professional association of pharmacists and other health care practitioners who serve society by the application of sound medication management principles and strategies to improve health care for all. The Academy's more than 6,000 members develop and provide a diversified range of clinical, educational and business management services and strategies on behalf of the more than 200 million Americans covered by a managed care pharmacy benefit. More news and information about AMCP can be obtained on its website, at www.amcp.org. The Academy observed its 20th anniversary in 2009.