Brian LeBaron

Brian LeBaron is the national data manager for pharmacy benefits management operations and compliance at the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he develops national dashboards to monitor pharmacy quality, operational, and strategic metrics. He assists users in understanding relationships between data, processes, and outcomes of the services they provide in order to identify areas of potential improvement, and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams to develop national clinical decision support templates to support consistent and safe patient care. He also works with enterprise data analytics and visualization as well as strategic planning and workflow optimization. Previously, Brian practiced informatics at the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, where he was active in developing clinical decision support tools to assist with the launch of a new 200-bed inpatient facility as well as managing the informatics needs of the associated outpatient clinics and 7 satellite clinic locations throughout Louisiana. Brian has completed an American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) 10x10 certificate program, attended the National Library of Medicine’s Biomedical Informatics Resident Course with Augusta University, served on the AMIA Health Informatics Practice Analysis Task Force and the AMIA Health Informatics Certification Commission, is Board Certified in Pharmacotherapy, obtained AMIA Certified Health Informatics Professional diplomate status, and is a Fellow of the American Medical Informatics Association. He serves on the ASHP Section of Informatics and Technology (SOPIT) as a member of the Section Advisory Group (SAG) on Clinical Applications and is the Member-at-Large for AMIA’s Pharmacoinformatics Working Group. Brian received his B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences as well as his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Mississippi.

What advice would you provide for someone new to your specialty area?
The breadth and depth of clinical informatics can initially seem overwhelming. I would encourage you to follow the path(s) that interest you most, be that analytics, visualization, program management, clinical decisions support, human factors engineering, or anything else. Use your skills to help your colleagues and patients achieve better outcomes through efficiency, effectiveness, satisfaction, and safety. Don't worry about learning everything all at once— it will come with time. There is always more to learn. As you explore pharmacy and informatics, participate in the organizations that represent you to ensure that you have a voice in your profession.

What is your current involvement with ASHP?
I have been a member of ASHP for almost 15 years and serve as a member of the SOPIT SAG on Clinical Applications.

Why did you become involved in ASHP?
I want to ensure that informatics is recognized as a valid and valuable specialty in pharmacy practice and encourage others to do the same.

What is the value of ASHP for the profession?
As a pharmacist, I have always felt that ASHP represents me personally more than any other organization. They are recognized experts in policy and practice and lead the way for the future of pharmacy.