By Amanda Meeker, P4
If you are very lucky, you get to encounter experiences that completely change your life and help you come to an understanding of your future path. I am experiencing one of these events this summer during a two-block rotation with the OHSU Richmond Pharmacy and CareOregon, a 340B pharmacy and a Medicaid managed care organization respectively. I am acting as a liaison between the two sites, learning in both environments while getting a 360-degree view of an underserved population (Medicaid and the uninsured) and implementing projects that help both organizations work better together. During this time of healthcare reform in Oregon, I am sitting on the front lines, learning how organizations like CareOregon and OHSU Richmond are improving healthcare for complex patients while reducing costs. This journey has shown me the complexities involved in the lives of these patients and how that intersects with their health outcomes; it has also shown me the challenges currently involved in taking care of patients and the opportunities that exist to improve the lives of our patients, including future expansion of pharmacist duties and ways to prove our value to the healthcare system. Throughout my final year rotations, I will be able to continue to learn about and help this population and leverage this opportunity to affect change at each of my subsequent rotations. This summer has inspired me to dedicate my career to improving the pharmacy services of organizations that work with underserved populations, to provide these patients with clinical pharmacy services that will help improve their health and healthcare experience.