We’re excited to invite you to listen to our audio series, Conversations That Impact Outcomes, featuring interviews by Artcraft Health with medical experts who address timely issues in medicine and healthcare. They offer best practices and solutions of interest to an array of pharmaceutical stakeholders, medical practitioners, academics, policymakers, and consumers. At the heart of these conversations is the notion that education transforms behavior, leading to better health outcomes.
Issues in Patient Adherence to Treatment: Meeting the Challenge
A Conversation with Andrew Maiorini
Andrew Maiorini, Pharm.D. is Vice President Clinical Programs for PerformRx, a pharmacy benefit manager, which is part of AmeriHealth Caritas, a national managed care services plan that offers a broad range of health solutions to meet the needs of underserved and chronically ill populations. For PerformRx, Dr. Maiorini oversees formulary development, drug therapy management, PBM quality, clinical program management, and the prior authorization process. He implements their Medicare Part D programs, as well as the specialty drug management, bleeding disorder, and hepatitis C management programs.
Previously, Dr. Maiorini was the ICU Clinical Pharmacist for Delaware County Memorial Hospital in the Crozer-Keystone Health System and held retail positions. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from La Salle University and a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Temple University, and completed a general practice residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Interviewed by Lisa Moss Calderwood, Director, Special Projects, Content, Artcraft Health
Episode: Issues in Patient Adherence to Treatment: Meeting the Challenge
Up to 50 percent of patients are nonadherent to their medications whether due to cost, access, or other patient- or treatment-related barriers that affect adherence. In this episode, Andrew Maiorini discusses the social determinants of health and chronic illnesses that affect compliance, the difference between primary and secondary nonadherence, and best practices for health plans and healthcare practitioners to meet these challenges. We also discuss the importance of engaging patients and caregivers with educational solutions grounded in health literacy to achieve better health outcomes.
Crisis in Black Maternal Health
A Conversation With Karen Dale
Karen M. Dale, RN, MSN, is the Market President and CEO for the AmeriHealth Caritas Medicaid managed care plan in Washington, D.C. In her other role as the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for AmeriHealth Caritas, she leads strategies across the organization, linking workforce, workplace, health equity, and supplier diversity with measurable business and cultural outcomes.
Dale served previously as Executive Vice President of Health Care Management at DC Chartered Health Plan Inc. She has worked with a broad group of stakeholders to address policies and factors that affect the delivery of health care services and the varied needs experienced by the nation’s vulnerable populations. She spearheaded the development of digital resources to manage chronic diseases, peer-to-peer outreach involving community health workers and peer specialists, and a human-centered member engagement approach. Her key programs address Black maternal health, racism, housing, transportation, violence interruption, and food insecurity. She is a recipient of Diversity Global Magazine’s 2023 Champions of Diversity Award.
Dale holds a Master of Science degree in psychiatric mental health nursing from The Catholic University and a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from George Mason University.
Interviewed by Lisa Moss Calderwood, Vice President and Copy Director, Artcraft Health
Episode: Crisis in Black Maternal Health
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Black women are 2 to 3 times more likely to die than white women from pregnancy-related causes. Karen Dale believes that health care must evolve into a health ecosystem that promotes wellness without barriers, starting where people are. This is no more apparent than in her work to find solutions to the crisis in Black maternal health in America. In this conversation, Dale explains how health plans, providers, government agencies, and academic institutions can work to reduce Black maternal health disparities.
To download Five Crucial Interventions to Improve Health Outcomes for Black Mothers, visit https://www.amerihealthcaritas.com/assets/pdf/infographics/five-crucial-interventions-infographic.pdf
Advancing Diversity in Clinical Research
A Conversation with Dr. Andrea Phillips
Andrea L. Phillips, MD, is a certified family medicine physician in Jackson, Mississippi, and principal investigator for more than 100 clinical trials.
Dr. Phillips received her medical degree from the University of Mississippi, and served on numerous boards and committees with the Division of Medicaid, Jackson State University School of Public Health, Magnolia Health Plan, the Mississippi State Department of Health, and the board of the Mississippi Public Health Institute. A former Director of the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians, she is a member of the American Medical Association, and is Chairman of the Board of the Mississippi Medical and Surgical Association. She served on the COVID-19 Task Force for the City of Jackson and formed the African American Legacy Physicians Group to address COVID vaccine hesitancy, and to increase access to COVID-19 treatment among minorities in Mississippi. For her efforts, she was recognized as a Woman of Distinction in Healthcare for providing healing and promoting hope during the pandemic.
Interviewed by Lisa Moss Calderwood, Vice President and Copy Director, Artcraft Health
Episode 3: Advancing Diversity in Clinical Research: Breaking Down the Barriers
In this final episode, Dr. Andrea Phillips discusses the barriers she sees to diverse clinical trial participation and ways to raise awareness, build trust, and expand the number of minority principal investigators.
Episode 2: Advancing Diversity in Clinical Research: From FDA Guidelines to Study Design
In this episode, Dr. Andrea Phillips challenges the pharmaceutical industry to expand site selection in order to improve broader representation among participants. She shares ways on how best to achieve that.
Episode 1: The Rationale for Diversity and Inclusion in Clinical Research
In this introductory episode, Dr. Andrea Phillips shares how her background growing up in rural Mississippi and her early medical practice experiences there informed her desire to open her own clinic and recruit her mostly Black patients to join clinical trials for which she is the principal investigator. She explores why it is critical to have a broad representation of minorities participating in clinical research.