Opening Remarks and Keynote

• Nicole Brandt, PharmD, MBA, BCGP, FASCP, Professor and Executive Director, Lamy Center, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy 
• Richard Erickson, Patient Representative
• Lisa Hines, PharmD, CPHQ, Chief Quality and Innovation Officer, Pharmacy Quality Alliance 

Patient and Caregiver Priorities for Medicare Part D MTM 

• Rhys Axon, PhD, MPharm, MS, Associate Professor, University of Arizona College of Pharmacy   
• Richard Erickson, Patient Representative
• Charles Rice, CPhT, MTM, BBM, Kidney Patient Advocate 
• Kelli Tharpe, EdD Patient Caregiver 
• Richard Schmitz, MA, Chief Engagement Officer, Pharmacy Quality Alliance (Moderator) 

Learnings from the Medicare Part D Enhanced MTM Model and Future Opportunities 

• Lauren Esterly, PharmD, BCPS, Associate Vice President, Patient Safety and Pharmacy Stars, Humana, Inc.
• Dani Markus, PharmD, MBA, Vice President, Clinical Program Delivery and Network Enablement, Outcomes 
• Shannon Reefer, RN, MPH, Principal Research Associate, Westat 
• Anita Pothen Skaria, PharmD, Director, Clinical Pharmacy Services, Centene Management Company
• Lisa Hines, PharmD, CPHQ, Chief Quality and Innovation Officer, Pharmacy Quality Alliance (Moderator) 

Quality and Health Equity Priorities for Medicare Part D MTM 

• Amanda Brummel, PharmD, BCACP, Vice President, Clinical Ambulatory Pharmacy, Fairview Medication Therapy Management
• Lynn Deguzman, PharmD, BCGP, National Pharmacy Director, Quality, Kaiser Permanente
• Anna Hung, PharmD, PhD, MS, Assistant Professor, Duke University 
• Dimitra Politi, PhD, Senior Research Manager, Acumen, LLC 
• Melissa Castora-Binkley, PhD, Senior Director, Research, Pharmacy Quality Alliance (Moderator)

Interactive Session: Developing a Call to Action

• Melissa Castora-Binkley, PhD, Senior Director, Research, Pharmacy Quality Alliance 
• Chris Kotschevar, PharmD, RPh, CPHQ, Director, Stakeholder Engagement, Pharmacy Quality Alliance 
• Lynn Pezzullo, RPh, CPEHR, CPHQ, Vice President, Quality Innovation, Pharmacy Quality Alliance

Rhys Axon, PhD, MPharm, MS, Associate Professor, University of Arizona College of Pharmacy

Rhys Axon, PhD, MPharm, MS, MRPharmS, is an Associate Professor and graduate program director at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy. Dr. Axon has research expertise in social and administrative pharmacy, health economics and outcomes research, and pharmacy education. His primary research interest is improving the clinical, economic, and humanistic outcomes associated with managing chronic health conditions using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. He also supports student pharmacists and pharmacists with scholarly activities and seeks to demonstrate the value of the pharmacy profession. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and presented his research at national and international conferences.   

Nicole Brandt, PharmD, MBA, BCGP, FASCP, Professor and Executive Director, Lamy Center, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy

Dr. Brandt is a professor in the Department of Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research (P-SHOR) and executive director of the Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. She has worked on various interdisciplinary teams across numerous practice settings and is currently leading initiatives to integrate sustainable pharmacist-directed services to help older adults with multiple co-morbidities at the MedStar Center for Successful Aging. Dr. Brandt has been active in promoting optimal care for older adults and has affected this through her educational, clinical, as well as health care policy work on a state, national and international level.

Amanda Brummel, PharmD, BCACP, Vice President, Clinical Ambulatory Pharmacy, Fairview Medication Therapy Management

Amanda Brummel, PharmD, BCACP serves as the Vice President of Clinical Ambulatory Pharmacy Services. Dr. Brummel has been employed by Fairview Pharmacy Services since 1999 when she graduated from the University of Minnesota. While at MHealth Fairview, she has built and practiced, Comprehensive Medication Management (CMM) as a part of MHealth Fairview’s Medication Therapy Management (MTM) Program. Dr. Brummel has responsibility for the MTM Program, the Anticoagulation Program, the Outcomes department, Compliance department and the clinical development and integration of ambulatory pharmacy services in the MHealth Fairview Network. Dr. Brummel is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota.

Melissa Castora-Binkley, PhD, Senior Director, Research, Pharmacy Quality Alliance

Melissa Castora-Binkley is PQA's Senior Director of Research and acts as the Principal Investigator to develop evidence to support meaningful quality measures; evaluate the impact of PQA measures on care delivery, patient outcomes and healthcare spending; and identify gaps in performance measurement. She collaborates with senior PQA staff to ensure that the organization’s research is aligned with PQA’s mission and organizational priorities, responsive to the needs of PQA’s multi-stakeholder membership, and effectively disseminated to members and other relevant health care stakeholders. Dr. Castora-Binkley has 17 years of experience in health research and policy, healthcare quality measure development and evaluation, and quality improvement.

Lynn Deguzman, PharmD, BCGP, National Pharmacy Director, Quality, Kaiser Permanente

Lynn Deguzman, PharmD, BCGP, has been with Kaiser Permanente for over 17 years. She recently started a new role in as the National Pharmacy Quality Director. She leads the development of a national strategy for Pharmacy Quality which includes CMS Medicare Stars and HEDIS measures which includes Health Equity/ Social Health initiatives. Prior to her national role, she has served as the Clinical Operations Manager at since 2011 leading Pharmacy Medicare Stars, Pharmacy Mental Health and Deprescribing programs at Kaiser Permanente Northern California. Dr. Deguzman received her bachelor’s of science in Chemistry and Biology from St. Mary’s College of California and her doctorate of pharmacy from the University of California SF School of Pharmacy.

Richard Erickson, Patient Representative

Richard Erickson (Retired):As a retired person with medical concerns, I became a “Patient Partner” with the Health Partners organization in Minnesota starting in 2010. My medical journey here started in 1970 while as part of the Marine Corps I was stationed in Vietnam and somehow came in contact with the herbicidal chemical now known as Agent Orange. Medical consequences became obvious as I was diagnosed with type II diabetes in 2006. As a patient partner, I was able to start up and facilitate a Diabetes Support Group. This and other chronic illnesses have brought a variety of pharmaceutical products and MTM services into my treatment profile.

Lauren Esterly, PharmD, BCPS, Associate Vice President, Patient Safety and Pharmacy Stars, Humana, Inc.

Lauren Esterly, PharmD, BCPS, is the Associate Vice President for Patient Safety and Pharmacy Stars at Humana. Her organization focuses on member facing clinical programs with a mission to empower Humana members to achieve their best health via optimized medication use. Lauren is an experienced leader in the field of pharmacy, leading in both a health system environment as well as within a health plan serving in multiple roles throughout Humana for the past 8 years.

Lisa Hines, PharmD, CPHQ, Chief Quality and Innovation Officer, Pharmacy Quality Alliance

Lisa Hines, PharmD, CPHQ, is the Chief Quality and Innovation Officer of the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA). A member of the senior leadership team, Hines develops, establishes and implements the strategic direction of the PQA’s performance measurement and research initiatives. A recognized quality improvement leader, Hines serves on many national committees, collaboratives and technical expert panels. She leads PQA’s work to engage federal agencies and state and national advisory groups. Hines received her BS in Pharmacy from the University of Washington and her Doctorate of Pharmacy from The Ohio State University, having completed her residency training at The Ohio State University Medical Center.

Anna Hung, PharmD, PhD, MS, Assistant Professor, Duke University

Anna Hung, PharmD, PhD, MS is a pharmacist and health services researcher interested in managed care pharmacy and deprescribing.  She is Core Faculty with the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy and an Investigator at the Durham VA Center of Innovation to Accelerate Discovery and Practice Transformation. Her methodological research interests include health care cost evaluations, quasi-experimental study designs, and stated preference research.

Chris Kotschevar, PharmD, RPh, CPHQ, Director, Stakeholder Engagement, Pharmacy Quality Alliance

Christopher Kotschevar is the Director of Stakeholder Engagement for the Pharmacy Quality Alliance. Kotschevar develops and maintains relationships with PQA’s diverse stakeholders and seeks to connect members with opportunities to work together in order to improve medication use quality. He also oversees PQA public affairs strategy to broaden awareness of PQA’s expertise in medication use quality. Prior to this role, Kotschevar completed a post-graduate Executive Fellowship with the Pharmacy Quality Alliance, focusing his work on growing PQA’s educational offerings in medication use quality and leading research examining barriers and facilitators of specialty pharmacy prescription turnaround time.

Dani Markus, PharmD, MBA, Vice President, Clinical Program Delivery and Network Enablement, Outcomes

Dr. Markus leads clinical program delivery and oversees the Outcomes multichannel network, with the aim to optimize medication use and improve patient outcomes. She guides continuous quality improvement efforts to advance program effectiveness and enhance the value of MTM programs. Dani facilitates the National MTM Advisory Board activities and is an advocate for high quality patient experiences and advancing the practice of pharmacy. She has served on several industry workgroups and presented as a subject matter expert on MTM at national conferences. Dani earned her Doctor of Pharmacy and MBA from Drake University.

Lynn Pezzullo, RPh, CPEHR, CPHQ, Vice President, Quality Innovation, Pharmacy Quality Alliance

Pezzullo, RPh, CPEHR, CPHQ, is the Vice President, Quality Innovation at the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA). A member of the senior management team, Pezzullo oversees PQA’s measure development and stewardship activities and is also the Director of PQA’s Quality Innovation and Research Center (QuIRC). She received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Pharmacy from the University of Rhode Island and continues to stay engaged with her alma mater, currently serving as Vice-Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Board.  She also is an active member of the Rhode Island Pharmacists Association, previously serving as President, and currently serves on the Rhode Island Pharmacy Foundation Board of Directors.

Dimitra Politi, PhD, Senior Research Manager, Acumen, LLC

Dimitra Politi, PhD, is a health economist at Acumen, LLC., with over 14 years of experience in academic and policy research on public health and healthcare. She served as project director of evaluation of the Enhanced Medication Therapy Management (MTM) model, and is currently the director for the Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (MDPP) Technical Assistance, Outreach, and Monitoring project. She has worked on the implementation and evaluation of various CMMI models focusing on MTM, chronic condition prevention and management, and shared decision-making. Before joining Acumen, Dr. Politi was an Assistant Professor of Economics at The University of Edinburgh (UK), and a visiting Assistant Professor of Economics at Brown University.

Anita Pothen Skaria, PharmD, Director, Clinical Pharmacy Services, Centene Management Company

Anita Pothen Skaria, PharmD is Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services at Centene Corporation. She earned her PharmD from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and completed a PGY-1 Managed Care Residency at Wellcare Health Plans in Tampa, FL. Following her post-doctoral training, Anita supported various roles at Wellcare/Centene within pharmacy operations, pharmacy quality, and clinical programs. During the 5 year Enhanced MTM Model, Anita led program operations, reporting and oversight for Wellcare Health Plans as one of the six Model participants. In addition to her current role at Centene, Anita serves on the DEI Governance Council for Centene Pharmacy Services and as AMCP Diplomat for Nova Southeastern University College of Pharmacy.

Shannon Reefer, RN, MPH, Principal Research Associate, Westat

Shannon Reefer is a registered nurse and Westat Principal Research Associate with experience in health services research and evaluation. She has managed and conducted numerous multiyear, mixed-methods evaluations for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and she served as the Westat lead for the evaluation of CMS's Enhanced Medication Therapy Management Model. Her additional evaluation work covers other medication management innovations, electronic data exchange pilots, and community-based wellness programs. Her work also focuses on implementation science and healthcare quality improvement. Prior to her career at Westat, Shannon was an emergency department staff nurse.

Charles Rice, CPhT, MTM, BBM, Kidney Patient Advocate

In 1998 Charles was diagnosed with Kidney Disease, and in 2003 found himself in the hospital for 45 days after he crashed into dialysis. During the hospital stay he was formally diagnosed with Nephrotic Syndrome and Congestive Heart Failure. He wanted to learn more about his illness, the medications he was taking, the dialysis machine, etc., He became an advocate.  He began pursuing a degree in Pharmacy, creating an avenue for medication therapy management.  In 2007 he received a Kidney Transplant from a deceased donor, but by 2008 his body began rejecting the donated Kidney. During this time, Charles was still pursuing another degree in Business Management.

Richard Schmitz, MA, Chief Engagement Officer, Pharmacy Quality Alliance

Richard Schmitz provides visionary leadership for engaging PQA members and quality-focused health care organizations in PQA’s work to improve medication safety, adherence and appropriate use. Through meetings, events, communications, marketing, public affairs and compelling content, he leads an integrated approach to creating and overseeing programs that increase engagement and strengthen relationships and partnerships among PQA members and medication use quality stakeholders. An award-winning communicator, Schmitz has won the North America SABRE Award for Medical Technology and multiple FREDDIE Awards for Women’s Health. He is the author of numerous publications including “The Brain and Degenerative Diseases,” a chapter in “The Savvy Woman Patient: How and Why Your Sex Matters to Your Health.”

Kelli Tharpe, EdD, Patient Caregiver

Dr. Kelli Tharpe is a professor at Cal State East Bay University teaching in the Teacher Education department for both the BS and MS degree programs. She received her doctorate in educational leadership for social justice. Kelli desires to advance her knowledge in the current research in education to be the necessary change agent in our education system in ways that supports an equitable quality education for all ages. During the COVID-19 shelter-in-place Kelli became a full-time caregiver for her father. James Tharpe served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. At his current age of 81, James suffers from Parkinson’s Disease, dementia, anxiety, sleep apnea, and other chronic conditions.