Bernice Man

Her Story

Bernice Man, PharmD, BCPS, CSP, CPHQ, DPLA received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Chicago State University College of Pharmacy, completed a PGY1/PGY2 Health-System Pharmacy Administration residency at the University of Chicago Medicine and is a graduate of the ASHP Foundation Pharmacy Leadership Academy. Prior to beginning her pharmacy journey, Dr. Man graduated from the University of Chicago with a Bachelor's degree in Economics and worked in various arts disciplines. Most recently, she has been accepted into the Master of Business Administration program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Dr. Man is a Practice Coordinator at Northwestern Medicine Specialty Pharmacy where she currently oversees accreditation, quality and safety. She is the primary preceptor for the PGY2 Ambulatory Care administration rotation and the PGY1 Pharmacy Practice and PGY2 Health-System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership specialty pharmacy elective rotations.

Facility

Northwestern Medicine is a multi-regional, Chicagoland area health-system that serves patients at over 200 sites including 11 hospitals. Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the health-system's flagship, 894-bed academic medical center hospital, is ranked No. 1 in Chicago and Illinois and 10th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, and is the primary teaching affiliate of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Recent Significant Projects

Recent significant projects include attaining URAC 4.0 and ACHC reaccreditations in tandem with the pharmacy's dispensing system being transitioned to Epic Willow Ambulatory Module. Other significant projects include implementing oral chemotherapy verification queue standardized workflow across all regions and completely overhauling specialty pharmacy policies and procedures to meet accreditation requirements. Current projects include integrating the pharmacy's consumer feedback process into the health-system's event reporting system for better transparency, tracking and reporting purposes and further defining clinical outcomes to showcase the value and benefit of health-system specialty pharmacies. Future projects include establishing a PGY-1 Community Pharmacy residency program with a specialty pharmacy focus and integrating patient management documentation in the medical record. 

Initial Involvement in ASHP

I currently serve as the Vice Chair of the Section of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners Advisory Group on Workforce Development, am a member of the Council on Public Policy and represent Illinois at the House of Delegates.

Why did you become involved in ASHP?

I became involved with ASHP when I was in pharmacy school and quickly saw how much ASHP values and listens to their membership, including students. I continue to be motivated to serve in ASHP because of how the organization represents health-system pharmacy and because of ASHP's ability to bring together and provide a plethora of opportunities to collaborate and communicate with other health-system pharmacies across the nation so we can tackle common issues and goals.

Advice for Someone New to the Specialty Area 

Health-system specialty pharmacy is a unique and growing area that integrates clinical and operational functions because of the dual importance of clinical appropriateness of therapy and the ability for patients to receive their self-administered specialty medications as soon as possible. The opportunity exists for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians alike to be integrated in clinics and practice at the top of their licenses, whether it is pharmacists practicing under a collaborative practice agreement or pharmacy technicians utilizing their disease state knowledge for timely and successful prior authorization submissions. Specialty pharmacy continues to evolve because of the ever-changing payer and pharmaceutical company landscapes when new and novel outpatient medications become approved and because of accreditation requirements that exist to ensure high quality of pharmacy services.

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

ASHP is an organization that will support you and your growth as a member of the health-system pharmacy workforce through its diverse offerings and resources available and through its vast membership network.

What is the value of ASHP for the profession?

ASHP is an invaluable source of advocacy and support for health-system pharmacies on all levels of the profession whether through national legislative efforts and timely communications on related current events, state affiliate support, organizational pharmacy practice and residency resources, or through educational and volunteer opportunities for individual members. ASHP also continues to show how the organization is forward-thinking and willing to expand services based on membership needs. I am particularly appreciative of the creation of the Section of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners as the section's existence and the continued creation of new sections and forums show ASHP’s willingness to evolve as health-system pharmacy evolves.