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The Pharmacist / Spring 2022 / Volume 44 / Issue 2

Magazine of the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy

Magazine of the University of Illinois Chicago College of Pharmacy

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ASK AN ALUMNUS<br />

Denise Scarpelli, PharmD ’96, MBA<br />

Executive Director of Ambulatory Pharmacy and Business<br />

Development, University of Chicago Medicine<br />

Dr. Denise Scarpelli has served as the executive director of ambulatory pharmacy and business<br />

development at the University of Chicago since 2017. Previously she held many leadership<br />

roles at Walgreens, leading Pharmacy Operations in Chicago for over 20 years.<br />

Dr. Scarpelli earned a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Illinois Chicago<br />

College of Pharmacy in 1996 and a Master of Business Administration from<br />

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 2021. She is currently the chair<br />

of the Illinois Board of Pharmacy and on the Dean’s Advisory Board for<br />

Midwestern College of Pharmacy. Denise has also served as the chair of<br />

the ASHP Section of Specialty Pharmacy Practitioners Section Advisory<br />

Group (SAG) on Business Development in 2020. She serves as a committee<br />

member of many ASHP groups.<br />

Scarpelli serves as the clinical leader within the actuarial organization, guiding<br />

financial initiatives related to medical and pharmacy spend across the organization<br />

and influencing the risk management of major developments in the industry, such as gene<br />

therapy and the COVID-19 vaccines.<br />

As a pharmacist, how can I best prepare to adapt<br />

to the inevitable changes in the next ten years?<br />

As I reflect on three decades of experience,<br />

pharmacy has changed dramatically. <strong>The</strong> one<br />

thing I came to learn is that change is constant, and as a<br />

pharmacist, you need to be aware of the changes, or you<br />

will not be relevant to the industry. To adapt, you need<br />

to be reading about the changes in healthcare, network<br />

with other pharmacists and healthcare providers to<br />

discuss the changes, and create strategies around<br />

how you fit or your practice fits with those changes. I<br />

have seen so many pharmacists not keep up with the<br />

changes and have been left behind due to not changing<br />

with the profession.<br />

What are you working on right now, and what have<br />

you learned from it?<br />

Currently, I am building a central fill pharmacy and<br />

a home infusion pharmacy. I have learned that no<br />

matter how much experience you have, there are always<br />

new things to learn. I have learned to reach out to my<br />

colleagues in the industry to pick their brains to learn<br />

from them. Also, no matter how much planning you do,<br />

there are always hiccups along the way with a project and<br />

having a flexible plan to let you adjust to the changes. <strong>The</strong><br />

changes happening in the world around the supply chain<br />

and resources have made new projects difficult, and we<br />

need to learn that new projects might take longer than<br />

anticipated. You should always have a contingency plan<br />

when developing new pharmacy services.<br />

With three decades in pharmacy, what were the<br />

things that most influenced or informed your career?<br />

Over my three decades in pharmacy, the things<br />

that influenced or informed my career were<br />

the organizations I became involved with and the<br />

networking contacts I developed outside of my work<br />

environment. <strong>The</strong>se contacts helped me learn what<br />

else there was to do in pharmacy and helped me make<br />

connections for career growth and opportunities.<br />

I advise students all the time to get involved. It will<br />

help their careers and network outside your work<br />

environment; it enables you to grow professionally.<br />

36 THE PHARMACIST PHARMACY.UIC.EDU

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