National Association of Specialty Pharmacy Names Ardon Health Specialty Pharmacy of the Year & Honors Mike Agostino with the Distinguished Service Award

WASHINGTON, Sept. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kicking off the fifth annual National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) meeting today, outgoing NASP President Rebecca Shanahan announced the industry's two much-anticipated awards recognizing the best in the business of specialty pharmacy this year. Of the 1,200 corporate association members, Ardon Health was named Specialty Pharmacy of the Year, and incoming NASP President Mike Agostino was honored with a Distinguished Service to Specialty Pharmacy award, recognizing his exceptional and sustained leadership within NASP.

"Millions of Americans suffer from some of the most devastating and complex diseases, depending on specialty pharmacists to deliver knowledgeable, skilled and caring services to help them manage their sickness," Shanahan said. "Specialty pharmacy provides a crucial and unique service to the most vulnerable patients in the country, ensuring they have access to the life-changing medications they need, along with the necessary support to succeed with complex treatments. This year's NASP award honorees are exemplary representatives of the specialty pharmacy industry.  Both recipients demonstrate an inspiring commitment to making quality care accessible to their patients, and today we commend them for their efforts."

NASP represents over 50 healthcare industry leaders, working on behalf of retail and specialty pharmacies, drug distributors and hospital systems on legislative and regulatory efforts to advance the practice of specialty pharmacy. These peer-nominated and reviewed awards go to the individual and organization that have done the most to advance patient care and the practice of specialty pharmacy, as well as uphold the values of NASP over the past year.

Ardon Health was recognized for embodying the practice of pharmacy in the field of specialty, based on community involvement, patient satisfaction, cost management, innovation in the field, and quality/performance improvement initiatives, which includes patient care and outcomes, disease state and therapy management, and patient engagement. Mike Agostino, the president of Amber Pharmacy and Hy-Vee Pharmacy Solutions, was recognized for his exceptional and sustained leadership within NASP.

"All of our previous board members have done an outstanding job and I have no doubt that all of our new board members will do the same," said incoming NASP President Mike Agostino. "Everyone's contribution to our organization remains invaluable. We are very fortunate to have such a strong backing from so many renowned leaders throughout the industry. A special thank you to Rebecca Shanahan for her strong leadership this past year as President, and a sincere congratulations to Carmine DeNardo, who was voted as and has accepted the position of President Elect 2018 for NASP."

The presidential torch was passed to Agostino today, who named the following as new NASP board members:

• Carl T. Bertram, PharmD, MBA - Senior Director of Walmart Specialty Pharmacy
• Roy Bigler - National Accounts Manager for the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC)
• Keith Cook - Vice President of MedImpact Direct Specialty Operations
• Suzette DiMascio, CHE, CMCE, CPC - President/CEO of CSI Specialty Group
• Michael T. Einodshofer - Chief Innovation Officer for Maxor National Pharmacy Services
• Paul Jardina, Onco360 President and CEO, as well as President and CEO of CareMed Specialty Pharmacy
• Joseph Morse - President and Chief Operating Officer of Therigy
• Dr. Gordon J. Vanscoy - Chairman and CEO of PANTHERx Specialty Pharmacy, as well as Associate Dean for Business Innovation at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy
• Timothy Ward - President of Hercules Pharmaceuticals

NASP convened over 250 legal professionals for the industry's second annual Law Conference yesterday. Today kicked off with a state of the industry address from Rebecca Shanahan (full agenda here). This afternoon's first keynote will be from Alex Azar - pharmaceutical executive, healthcare industry leader, former president of Lilly USA, and former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The day will conclude with a keynote address by U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (MD).  The conference continues through tomorrow, Sept. 20.  

Specialty pharmacy provides medications to treat patients with serious, chronic, rare, progressive, or debilitating or fatal if left untreated or undertreated. Examples of these illnesses include cancer, hepatitis C, infectious disease, infertility, Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Cystic Fibrosis, organ transplantation, human growth hormone deficiencies, hemophilia, and other bleeding disorders. According to the Drug Channels Institute, specialty drugs will represent 44% of the U.S. drug spend by the year 2020.

CONTACT:  Maureen Shanahan | [email protected]

SOURCE National Association of Specialty Pharmacy

Related Links

http://naspnet.org