Financial Management for Health-System Pharmacists

In an era of skyrocketing drug costs, changing reimbursement, pharmacist and technician shortages, and a seemingly permanent "do-more-for-less" era of hospital and health-system management, every management decision that a pharmacy manager makes has financial implications. Success as a manager means understanding—and then mastering—the basics of finance and accounting as practiced in institutional healthcare. 

Chapters include information on:

• Financial accounting principles
• Hospital financial management
• Budgeting principles
• Forecasting pharmaceutical expenditures
• Cost management basics
• Controlling operating results
   

Andrew L. Wilson, PharmD, FASHP

Andrew L. Wilson received his BSc Pharm from the University of Connecticut in 1976 and his PharmD from Wayne State University in 1978. Dr. Wilson has served as the Chief Pharmacy Officer of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD, and as the Health System Director of Pharmacy and Associate Dean of the School of Pharmacy at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. He is former Managing Consultant with McKesson Health Systems Pharmacy Optimization Group.

Dr. Wilson’s interests are in the area of health-system pharmacy financial and operational management and benchmarking, and in healthcare information systems and automation. Dr. Wilson is the author of over 60 articles, chapters, reports, letters, and editorials in the medical and pharmacy literature, and has edited three pharmacy management books in addition to his editorship of Financial Management for Health-System Pharmacists.

MedInfoNow

Reviewer: Albert Wertheimer, BS, MBA, PhD (Temple University School of Pharmacy)

Description

This is a one-stop resource for learning about financial management of a hospital pharmacy. For those with basic knowledge, it is, as well, an excellent reference for when a question arises. The financial management principles are similar to those employed in operating a brewery or a dry cleaner, but all of the examples and cases are those faced by hospital pharmacy managers.

Purpose

The purpose is ably described by the editor in the preface: "The continuing focus on quality of care and on building a safe medication use system provides the context for the development of sound management practices and processes." Few other works are as complete, in depth, and specific. The book meets its goals of providing context, information, and specific detailed recommendations for the financial management of a health system pharmacy.

Audience

The book has several audiences. It is an ideal textbook for master's degree courses in hospital pharmacy, as a learning tool for pharmacists in hospital-based fellowships or residencies, and as a self-teaching tool for hospital pharmacists to help them upgrade their financial management skills or to prepare for promotion to positions requiring financial management knowledge. The editor is a well regarded expert in this field and is an associate at a leading accounting/auditing/consulting firm. He is joined by 27 other authors, most of whom are recognized as experts in their topics.

Features

The 17 chapters fall into one of two categories—basic, fundamental information or very specialized upper level topics necessary for leaders and administrators of institutional pharmacy departments. The examples, cases, and illustrations with figures and tables in ample quantities make this book quite understandable and straightforward. The 10-page glossary is a positive feature, while the 9-page index could be expanded. Most importantly, the material in this book is sufficient to make serious students or readers into managers who can perform the basic tasks of financial management. Since many hospitals run outpatient and other ambulatory care pharmacies in clinic buildings and at other satellite sites, the book could have included more detailed information about this topic than what is offered in the final chapter. However, this does not take away from the clear overall value of this excellent book.

Assessment

This is a most welcome addition to the references and textbooks in health system pharmacy. Many books cover the clinical and biomedical aspects of institutional pharmacy practice, but too few good quality publications in recent years have covered financial management. The book fills a large void and should be very successful in the marketplace. For too long, we have had to endure using financial management books intended for industrial organizations or generic books intending to cover all spheres of the healthcare delivery system. This specialized work is much needed. 

4 Stars!