Nisha Mathew

Her Story

Nisha Mathew, PharmD, MBA, BE, BCPS, CPh, attended the University of Illinois-Chicago, College of Pharmacy, where she received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2007 and completed a postdoctoral PGY1 residency at Froedtert Hospital, Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2008. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Computer Science and recently completed her MBA in Health Care Analytics from the University of South Florida in 2021 to tee up on informatics, management and pharmacy areas. She is the Cleveland Clinic Florida Regional Director for Medication Safety Services with oversight of five hospitals for medication safety and pharmacy regulatory activities. She assists with quality and process improvement within pharmacy and serves as a preceptor for residents and students. Dr. Mathew holds a position as Clinical Assistant Professor at the College of Pharmacy for the University of Florida, Nova Southwestern University and Palm Beach Atlantic Gregory (PBA) School of Pharmacy.

Facility

Cleveland Clinic, based in Ohio is a multi-specialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education with locations worldwide. Cleveland Clinic Florida (CCF) is a 1000-inpatient bed, teaching nonprofit health system comprising of five hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, clinics, stand-alone emergency centers, research innovation center and part of the Cleveland Clinic Health System. CCF is a non-university based, graduate physician teaching center, with students from many health services including pharmacy.

Recent Significant Projects

 I have been working on improving practices around bar-code medication administration (BCMA) for the inpatient areas to ensure compliance of 95% of more and educate our staff on the importance of scanning medication prior to administration. Additionally, I am working on opioid stewardship projects to assess safety practices around IV hydromorphone use, and  importance of recognizing somnolence or respiratory depression due to concomitant sedating medications with opioids to drive naloxone reversal. I also focus on process improvement surrounding high-alert medications and risk mitigation strategies with epic alerts and pump library modifications.

Current Involvement in ASHP

I serve on the ASHP Section of Inpatient Care Practitioners Section Advisory Group for Medication Management.

Why did you become involved in ASHP? 

ASHP is the national voice of health system pharmacy - both hospital and clinic based. ASHP has a wide variety of resources, guidelines, and clinical groups based on years of practice or areas of interest to collectively unite and resource those groups of pharmacy. I enjoy bouncing ideas on ASHP Connect or looking through guidelines and medication safety resources on ASHP, not to mention the practitioners who are pioneering new inroads of pharmacy and legislative advocacy. Regulatory topics such as white-bagging, 340B, and advacing both pharmacists roles in ambulatory care and technician roles are dear to me to advance the profession.

Advice for Someone New to Specialty Area 

You cannot solve todays problems with old ideas, be innovative! There is no straight path to success, embrace your mistakes and learn from it.  Don’t let perfection stand in the way of progress.

Medication safety and regulatory practices are not taught much in pharmacy curriculums but make a significant impact on care. Being aware of medication safety principles and design aids in the safe care of the patient, a safety and learning oriented culture, as well as appropriate standard of care practices by staff. With out this, there is potential for medical fines and patient harm including death, due to poor process design. Be a change agent and do not be afraid to find resources to learn the safety science behind this field.

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

Imagine a whole pool of smart, knowledgeable experts who are driving the profession of pharmacy for accessible care and working with legislators and providers to solve problems that the public face today. That is ASHP in action to me. A group of pioneering competent pharmacy professionals who are passionate about the profession and creating a framework for pharmacy to drive practice. ASHP also has a compendium of resources based on clinical practice areas, guideline and position statements and resources to further your career. It is a great discussion board and a comprehensive resource portal for students, residents, technicians and pharmacists.

What is the value of ASHP for the profession?

 United we stand, or divided we fall is something I have believed from my student days. ASHP serves to unite pharmacy in acute care and health system pharmacy - whether it is a technician, student, resident, fellow, or pharmacist. ASHP strongly advocates for the pharmacist as provider and medication expert, who provides team-based, cost-effective, accessible and safe care to the public while creating advanced roles for technicians and students as pharmacist extenders.