Quality in action: How pharmacy leaders make an impact
Key takeaways:
- When you join a team at Optum, you enter an environment with a culture of quality that’s designed to encourage new perspectives and inspire change.
- Optum employees are empowered to elevate quality by speaking up, planning ahead and finding innovative solutions.
- Quality at Optum is measured by the impact we have on patients’ lives and it starts with asking how we can improve each patient experience.
Sometimes quality starts with a simple question: Can we make this better for patients? That mission is integral to Optum's culture and deeply personal for breast cancer survivor Danielle M., a pharmacist at Optum.
Danielle’s experience gives her a unique perspective on how pharmacy operations directly affect people’s lives. “I was a patient who relied on critical medication,” she says. That personal connection prompted Danielle to take action when she noticed a pattern: patients were experiencing confusion when receiving their prescriptions.
Empowered by Optum’s culture of collaborative-problem solving, Danielle shared her observations with her manager to ensure patient safety and improve the overall experience. She then proposed a simple packaging solution that increased clarity and allowed patients to stay on track with their treatment.
“If you see something that's not right, you've got to speak up because it's not just your job and your license — it's the patient's safety.”
Danielle M., Optum Pharmacist
When you join a team at Optum, you enter an environment designed to encourage new perspectives and inspire change. Because quality isn’t only about getting the details right — it’s about creating an experience where professionals listen, patients feel supported and teams can take action to improve people’s lives.
As Danielle puts it, “It made me feel good to come up with a simple solution to a problem that will have a big impact.”
Operational quality, elevated
While Danielle’s story proves that quality is in the details, Reshma P., senior director of pharmacy operations, demonstrates how it scales across everyday operations. By investing in employee training and fostering shared accountability, Optum teams embed quality into everything they do.
Reshma P., Senior Director of Pharmacy Operations, Optum
“Onboarding, certifications and recertifications aren’t just about crossing a task off a list,” Reshma says. “It all ties back to quality and making sure we all know the resources available and how we can learn from each other.”
That Optum ethos proved critical during the Florida hurricane season, when pharmacy access became a life-preserving necessity. Reshma and her team planned ahead to ensure that critical medications were accessible.
“Our facility proactively took on extra volume in Charlotte as we anticipated our Florida sites would temporarily close,” Reshma says. “As a result, the network was able to meet the needs of our patients.”
At Optum, leaders are encouraged to take action and are able to see their ideas take form in real improvements. Thanks to Reshma and her team’s initiative, patients continued receiving medications without interruption during the storms — even in the most volatile conditions.
Continuity of care, grounded in compassion
In Tennessee, Blake S., senior manager of pharmacy product, brings quality to life through relationship-building and community partnerships with care rooted in compassion and connection. At Optum, he feels empowered to find innovative ways to improve access to behavioral health medication.
“I think we all have friends and family with stories related to mental health. So when I saw an opportunity to work in a pharmacy where quality care was the mission, it was really inspiring. We’re going to take care of all our patients.”
Blake S., Senior Manager of Pharmacy Product, Optum
For Blake, that includes providing ongoing attention to complex cases, where preventing medication lapses can be extremely impactful. When his team noticed some patients were experiencing disruptions in medication continuity, Blake took action. He worked closely with a local hospital to streamline access to essential medications.
“Our proactive approach allowed patients to continue their therapy without interruption while they transitioned out of the hospital, reducing the likelihood of readmissions and leading to a better quality of life,” Blake says.
His story illustrates how employees drive quality far beyond just filling prescriptions. It’s an essential part of Optum’s culture — one that is centered around values, teamwork and impact.
A culture of quality
At Optum, quality isn’t about a single check or one person — it's about shared commitment. It’s a network of people working purposefully to ensure every patient receives the medication they need, the first time and every time.
Employees bring quality to life each day, from careful improvements in home delivery to proactive planning and compassionate care in local communities. What these leaders share is a personal drive to act proactively and to ask: How can we make this better for patients?
“I’ve never been so happy to work in a role as I have been here, because I know we’re making a difference in the community,” Blake says.
Tags:
Related Posts
Share This Story