
2025 Annual Conference
January 15 - 17
The Ritz-Carlton
Amelia Island, Fla.
Gold Sponsor Video
Agenda









Thursday, January 16
U.S. Pharmaceutical Market: Trends, Issues, and Outlook
Doug Long, M.B.A., VP, Industry Relations, IQVIA
Doug will provide market perspective on pharmacy and pharmaceutical industry trends, issues, and forecasts for 2025 and beyond.
Opportunities for Pharmacy Practice Transformation and Creating an IMPACT in Population Health
Ben Bluml, B.S.Pharm., Executive Director and SVP, Research and Innovation, APhA Foundation
Ben will discuss the APhA Foundation’s portfolio of active research and innovation initiatives focused on patient-centered, team-based care that includes pharmacists. Two of these active initiatives are credentialing and compensating pharmacists just like their physician colleagues on the healthcare team. Creating new opportunities for pharmacist service delivery payments that enable pharmacists to address population health needs and social determinants of health (SDOH) are hallmarks of several others. Most interestingly, though, will be details about the dedicated work in diabetes prevention that continues under the APhA Foundation’s CDC-recognized Umbrella Hub Arrangement (UHA) status that allows pharmacists across the United States to be compensated for providing Medicare Diabetes Prevention Program (Medicare DPP) services.
ASAP and PDMPs: Turning Data into Information
Kevin Borcher, Pharm.D., Senior Project Coordinator, IIR
Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) have been using the ASAP standards since 1995, and all PDMPs continue to use an ASAP version. Kevin will discuss how states are using the PDMP data to address prescription misuse and abuse.
Answering the Call for Prescription Drug Price Transparency and Its Impact on Medication Adherence
Denae Fernandez, Vice President of Customer Operations, FDB
Currently, consumers can estimate out-of-pocket (OOP) spending for retail items and services fairly easily. Not so for prescription drugs. Lack of price transparency often leads to prescription abandonment or not taking medications as prescribed. Even enacting real-time pharmacy benefit was only a partial solution without a viable, industry-wide method to share those estimates. Denae will provide insights into how leveraging ePrescribing and smartphone technology holds the key to prescription transparency, patient activation and engagement in their medications, and, ideally, increased adherence leading to optimal health outcomes.
AI-Powered Pharmacy: Transforming the Future of Patient Care
Brad Crosslin, SVP, Retail Pharmacy Products and Services, Synerio
Brad will explore the transformative impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the future of pharmacy. This session will delve into how AI can transform the way pharmacy engages with patients. By enhancing the patient experience, AI-powered solutions can drive improvements in retention, loyalty, and adherence while streamlining operations and freeing up time for clinical services. Brad will discuss cutting-edge advancements as well as common myths and fears about AI.
Friday, January 17
Cyberattacks: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of eHealth
Marsha Millonig, M.B.A., B.Pharm., President and CEO, Catalyst Enterprises
Nearly 300 cyberattacks occurred in the U.S. healthcare sector by early June 2024. These attacks represent 24% of all cyber events in the United States at that time. These incidents affected millions of people and compromised large amounts of digital records containing protected health information (PHI). Foreign bad actors are often responsible for these attacks, which can shut down eHealth services used throughout the healthcare enterprise, including pharmacy. In this session, Marsha will recap major cyberattacks, who’s behind them, what factors allowed them to occur, and steps organizations can take to help prevent them in the future.
Social Determinants of Health and the Community Pharmacy
Brent Fox, Pharm.D., Ph.D., FASHP, Professor of Health Outcomes Research and Policy, Auburn University, Harrison College of Pharmacy
Brent will dive into the social factors that significantly influence health outcomes, known as the social determinants of health (SDOH), and how they can impact medication adherence and overall health. He will explore the role of pharmacy management systems and pharmacy workflow in addressing SDOH and enhancing patient care across social contexts.
Challenges Facing Independent Pharmacies and the Path Forward
Ronna Hauser, Pharm.D., SVP Policy and Pharmacy Affairs, National Community Pharmacists Association
There are many challenges facing independent pharmacies in the current drug supply chain environment, but many opportunities also exist. Ronna will cover topics such as pharmacy closures, reimbursement pressures, WAC price decreases, IRA concerns, and PBM practices. She will also explore opportunities arising from this challenging environment.
“I’m not a robot” – Can AI Replace a Pharmacist’s Expertise?
Melissa Sherer Krause, Pharm.D., Vice President, Pharmacy Healthcare Solutions
This session will address the challenges and potential benefits of using AI, such as ChatGPT and others, in pharmacy. Specific focus will include drug information and other pharmacy and health IT applications.
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Speaker Bios
Doug Long, M.B.A., is vice president of industry relations at IQVIA, one the world’s largest pharmaceutical information companies. IQVIA offers services to the pharmaceutical industry in over 101 countries around the globe.
Doug’s fundamental task is to help secure data for all existing and new databases supported by IQVIA, manage supplier, manufacturer and association relationships, and develop information for data partners. As a direct consequence of his involvement in these areas, Doug has considerable experience with, and a unique perspective on, the changing U.S. and global healthcare marketplace and pharmaceutical supply chain.
Doug received a B.A. degree from DePauw University and an M.B.A. in management from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Ben Bluml, B.S.Pharm., is the executive director and senior vice president for research and innovation at the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Foundation. Along with his 28-plus years as the principal architect for the clinical and technology models in the Foundation’s patient care programs and 12 years of pharmacy practice experience, Ben is the author of numerous innovative health care software applications and professional journal publications related to his work on collaborative practice, health information technology, interdisciplinary patient care, and quality improvement.
He works with pharmacists, physicians, payers, technology companies, research and public health organizations across the United States to design and implement innovative patient-centered, team-based care programs and health care service delivery systems.
Bluml received his B.S.Pharm. from the University of Missouri Kansas City School of Pharmacy.
Kevin Borcher, Pharm.D., is the senior project coordinator for the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Training and Technical Assistance Center at the Institute for Intergovernmental Research. Kevin is responsible for developing and delivering programmatic and technical assistance for thePDMP and other justice and public health initiatives.
Prior to this, Kevin was the pharmacy informatics coordinator at Nebraska Methodist Hospital and most recently was the vice president of PDMP and pharmacy programs for Nebraska at CyncHealth.
Kevin has worked within areas involving geriatrics, behavioral health, and informatics. He has served on the Nebraska Board of Pharmacy for over ten years and on the Nebraska Board of Health for over six years.
He received his Pharm.D. from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and completed a residency in Phoenix, Ariz.
Denae Fernandez is vice president of customer operations for FDB, where she is responsible for leading FDB’s customer and sales operation teams, including front-line customer support, product documentation and communications, customer relationship management and implementation.
She brings organizational and leadership skills to proactively identify strategies to achieve increased levels of customer satisfaction and operational efficiencies. During Denae’s tenure, the company’s net promoter scores, a standard industry metric of customer relations success, have increased to 76 representing the highest levels in the company’s history.
Prior to joining FDB in 2012, Denae held increasingly responsible positions in customer relations and client experience management, including supervising and coaching call center operations teams in the entertainment and banking industries. Denae graduated from Chabot College in Hayward, Calif., with a degree in Liberal Studies and most recently is a Business student at the University of Arizona.
Brad Crosslin is SVP of retail pharmacy products & services at Synerio. Brad is a product visionary, executive leader, and technologist. From his start as a pharmacy technician to his role as president of PDX, the market-leading pharmacy management software company, to his current role at Synerio, Brad has always believed in putting the patient first, and the rest will follow. In executive roles at PDX and Change Healthcare, Brad was known for ability to rapidly develop products that addressed the fast-paced, changing market, including enabling the interoperability of patient data across an entire enterprise. At Synerio, Brad leverages his expertise in new technologies and AI to lead product strategy and development.
Marsha Millonig, M.B.A., B.Pharm., is the president/CEO of Catalyst Enterprises, LLC, a healthcare consulting firm dedicated to creating change toward improved health outcomes. Marsha is also an associate fellow of the University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy’s Center for Leading Healthcare Change.
Before starting her firm, Marsha was with NACDS and HDMA. She is a practicing pharmacist and pharmacist immunizer as a relief pharmacist for community pharmacies in the Twin Cities.
Brent Fox, Pharm.D., Ph.D., FASHP is professor of health outcomes research and policy at Auburn University’s Harrison College of Pharmacy. He is also the college’s Director of Student Affairs. Brent completed his B.S., Pharm.D., and Ph.D. degrees at Auburn.
Brent's teaching, research, and outreach programs focus on pharmacy informatics education and the use of health information technology (HIT) in pharmacy practice. He has published several columns in national pharmacy publications and has delivered more than 300 presentations, posters, and papers on the integration of information technology into the health care system. He coauthored two texts on informatics, both published by the American Pharmacists Association. Brent’s most recent scholarly efforts have focused on the opioid epidemic, especially the role of prescription drug monitoring programs in combating the problem. He is a founding member of the Auburn University Center for Opioid Research, Education and Outreach.
Brent is an active member of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. In 2012, ASHP recognized his service with the Distinguished Service Award for the Section of Pharmacy Informatics and Technology. Also in 2012, the Auburn University Alumni Association recognized Brent’s professional accomplishments with the Young Alumni Achievement Award. His outreach activities were recognized with the Excellence in Outreach Award from the Harrison School of Pharmacy in 2017. He is a former Fellow with the American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education and current Fellow of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
Ronna Hauser, Pharm.D., is the senior vice president of policy & pharmacy affairs for the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA). In this capacity Ronna is responsible for the association’s professional affairs, public policy and regulatory initiatives, including legislative review and drafting, the preparation of regulatory comments, issue briefs, testimony, and correspondence. Ronna represents and presents on behalf of NCPA at governmental and private sector meetings and is the lead for relationships and outreach to multiple non-profit organizations and federal and state agencies such as FDA, CMS, DEA, and DHA (Defense Health Agency).
Prior to joining NCPA in 2009, Ronna was the director of pharmacy advocacy and policy at the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, where she advocated the value of pharmacy to federal and state legislators, regulators, and other policymakers. She has also worked as a licensed community pharmacist. She has 20 years of progressively responsible experience in association management, policy development, regulatory law, pharmacy practice and operations, strategic relationship building and fundraising.
Ronna serves as the co-director of the USC-NCPA Pharmacy Access Initiative, which generates real-time information for national, state, and local policy officials, health care academics, industry leaders, and others to identify communities lacking in pharmacy access. She has served on the board of directors of the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) and was responsible for NCPA’s role in creation of the Pharmacy e-Health Information Technology Collaborative. She helped create and shape NCPA’s LTC Division, and remains engaged in policy and regulatory issues impacting long-term care pharmacy.
Ronna holds a B.S. in biomedical science from Texas A&M University and a Pharm.D. from the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy.
Melissa Sherer Krause, Pharm.D., is VP of Pharmacy Healthcare Solutions, LLC. Melissa’s areas of focus include drug compendia and classification, drug file integration in pharmacy management systems and electronic health records, pharmaceutical manufacturers’ trade channel and managed care initiatives, medication adherence, Medicare Part D operations and risk management, consumer focused education opportunities, and pharmacy school and professional association relations. Melissa has experience in retail and clinical pharmacy, pharmacy administration, government affairs, and professional associations. She joined the PHSL team in 2004.
Melissa received her Pharm.D. from Duquesne University, with a pharmacy management concentration. Melissa is also an APPE preceptor and field instructor for Duquesne University School of Pharmacy.
Melissa is involved in various boards and professional organizations, including Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association (PPA) Educational Foundation Board, Allegheny County Pharmacists Association (ACPA) Ambassador, Duquesne University Pharmacy Alumni Association, Lambda Kappa Sigma (LKS) Tau Alumni Chapter, National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the North Hills Toastmasters Club Chapter of Toastmasters International. In 2016, Melissa was honored by Duquesne University School of Pharmacy with the Recent Graduate Alumnus Award.