Jamie Tharp

Her Story

Dr. Tharp received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from University of Michigan College of Pharmacy (2004). She currently works at University of Michigan Health.

She is Assistant Director of Compounding Compliance at the University of Michigan Health and an Adjunct Clinical Instructor for UM College of Pharmacy. She is responsible for the organization's compliance with USP standards. She currently chairs the Pharmacy Compounding Compliance Oversight Committee and the organization's Hazardous Drug Oversight Committee. She supervises a 10 person compliance team responsible for policy writing, environmental monitoring sample collection and facilities compliance, compounding personnel education/competency assessments, and inspection readiness /response. Her team leads the College of Pharmacy's sterile and nonsterile compounding coursework and she lectures on leadership and compounding compliance. She also precepts APPE/PGY learners and PharmD research projects.

Describe the facility where you work (eg. Is it a teaching hospital? Health Center?)

The University of Michigan Health (UMH) is an academic medical center in southeast Michigan. It has a multi-hospital system (1107 beds) that includes adult and children's hospitals and multiple specialty surgical and infusion centers including an Eye center. UMH has six infusion centers with a total of 165 infusion chairs/beds. There are 19 sterile compounding locations including 11 clean room suites. UMH employs approximately 480 trained pharmacy technicians and pharmacists who perform category 1 and 2 compounding. Nonsterile compounding is performed at 7 locations with approximately 350 trained nonsterile compounders.

Recent Significant Projects

My top recent projects have been related to leading the implementation of USP <800> across our organization, which impacted approximately 18,000 staff. I've also been coordinating the implementation of policy and practice changes related to the revisions to USP <797> and <795>. My individual professional interest is in conducting research on hazardous drug decontamination protocols.

Initial Involvement in ASHP

I am the Vice-Chair of the SICP Advisory Group on Compounding Practice. I am also a reviewer of ASHP's Sterile Compounding Guidelines being updated with the recent USP <797> revisions. 

Why did you become involved in ASHP? 

I joined ASHP after moving from home infusion to hospital-based practice in 2017. I wanted to expand my networking opportunities and stay abreast of current news and trends in the field. Finding increasing levels of engagement within ASHP has improved my professional satisfaction beyond what I get from my primary job.

Advice for Someone New to Specialty Area

Compounding leadership requires practical experience in compounding operations, an interest in process improvement/project management, and engaged learning of regulations and standards. I find my early experience as a compounding pharmacy technician and home infusion clinical pharmacist to be an excellent foundation to understanding compounding practice. Having in interest in studying and interpreting legal and regulatory standards provides me with the expertise to guide my organization's compounding and hazardous drug compliance efforts. I also took every opportunity to volunteer for projects and leadership training.

How would you explain the value of ASHP to a friend or colleague?

I value the opportunities I've had to network with other health system pharmacists and vendors through my ASHP membership. I've also loved the opportunities to present and publish with the organization. Finally, ASHP has some extremely valuable professional resources to aid pharmacy professionals in a wide variety of practice areas.

What is the value of ASHP for the profession?

ASHP is a voice for health system pharmacists and pharmacies. They help us monitor for advocacy opportunities, develop practice standards and resources, and provide a necessary platform to network and share information.