Michael Gannon

His Story

Dr. Michael Gannon received his pharmacy degree from the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy. During pharmacy school he worked at the University of Illinois Specialty Pharmacy under the guidance of JoAnn Stubbings. This experience led him to a career path in specialty pharmacy. He went on to complete a managed care residency with CVS Health's Specialty Pharmacy then transitioned into a specialty pharmacy product development role with CVS Health. Dr. Gannon was able to return to his alma mater as the Business Coordinator for the Specialty Pharmacy. He is currently enrolled in the MBA program at University of Illinois Chicago.

Facility

The University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy operates seven ambulatory care pharmacies. The pharmacies serve the patients, employees, and students of the University of Illinois Hospital. The hospital is a 462 bed academic medical center that mainly serves the southwest side of Chicago. The campus also has primary and specialty care clinics.

Recent Significant Projects

Dr. Gannon has recently been involved in the specialty network application process for several national payers. Additionally he led a project evaluating options to mitigate alternative site of care risk associated with the hospital's infusion business. Finally he is responsible for developing and submitting annual URAC reporting measures. Dr. Gannon also enjoys pre-cepting fourth year APPE students and residents in UIC's Specialty Pharmacy community residency program.

Initial Involvement in ASHP

Dr. Gannon is currently involved with the Section of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners and is participating on the Business Development Section Advisory Group. He is working within a subgroup that is identifying and defining key metrics that can be used to benchmark specialty pharmacies.

Why did you become involved in ASHP? 

 Dr. Gannon became involved with ASHP to help contribute to the new Section of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners. He saw it as an opportunity to learn from other nationally recognized specialty pharmacies, network with peers, and help contribute to something that would benefit health system specialty pharmacies.

Advice for Someone New to Specialty Area

I would advise anyone getting involved with specialty pharmacy to stay persistent, keep things simple, and take advantage of the network of specialty pharmacy professionals that are available through collaborative groups such as ASHP.

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

ASHP is a diverse health system pharmacist organization that allows members to learn from one another. The collaborative nature is great for individuals and institutions that aim for continuous improvement.Additionally ASHP provides a collective voice to represent and advocate for health system pharmacists.

What is the value of ASHP for the profession?

I believe that ASHP can advocate for the health system specialty pharmacy practice and the integrated specialty pharmacy model. Health system specialty pharmacies are at risk given the current pressures with restricted pharmacy networks and decreased reimbursement.. ASHP can serve as a unified voice that can tell the health system specialty pharmacy story and highlight the great work specialty pharmacists are doing for their patients across the country.