The Astonishing Healthcare Podcast

On this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast, Casey Stockman, PharmD, Vice President of PBA Services, joins host Justin Venneri and shares her insights on the complexities of high-cost cell and gene therapies (CGTs), glucagon-like peptides (GLP-1s), and much more. Given the advancements in drug development and million-dollar-plus price tags for many of the CGTs, it is crucial for health p...

On this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast, a trio of pharmacists on the Capital Rx team join Justin Venneri and share their experiences and insights related to the residency and fellowship programs (i.e., post-graduate training) that pharmacists often choose to participate in. Allison Gallant, PharmD, Caitlyn Tung, PharmD, MBA, and Nicole Bergman, PharmD, discuss the details of well-de...

In this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast, we tackle one of the more polarizing issues in healthcare: prior authorization (PA for short). Sara Izadi, PharmD, Capital Rx's Chief Clinical Officer, Lorece Shaw, PharmD (Director of PA), and Product Manager Callie Burton-Callegari, join host Justin Venneri for a candid discussion about PA. They cover everything from basics like what a P...

This episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast explores the intersection of pharmacy and Medicaid in a relatable and understandable way. Jessin Joseph, PharmD, MBA, Senior Director of Pharmacy Benefits Administration (PBA) Services at Capital Rx, joins Justin Venneri for a discussion that starts with his journey from pharmacy school to Kentucky Medicaid, twists through acronyms like NADAC, AMP...

In this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast, Lloyd Fiorini, General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer at Capital Rx, shares his expertise and experiences from over 25 years in the pharmacy space. He acknowledges that employers and benefits consultants face challenges in a rapidly evolving, complex healthcare landscape. Lloyd covers several topics impacting health plan sponsors and f...

The astonishing potential of artificial intelligence (AI) for personal and professional use, and in healthcare in particular, is what we explore in this episode of Astonishing Healthcare with Christian Ward, Chief Data Officer at Yext, and Carrie Liken, Head of Yext's Healthcare Industry Practice. They discuss the trends they see in search that reflect changing behavior and ultimately influence ho...

In this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast , Robert Longyear, Co-Founder of Avenue Health, joins Justin Venneri to discuss virtual care and remote patient monitoring, including the role nurses and pharmacists can play as care models evolve and the importance of timely information exchange. Robert shares his personal journey in healthcare and how his experiences have shaped his mission t...

This episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast features the CEOs of Prime Therapeutics, Mostafa Kamal, and Capital Rx, AJ Loiacono. They join Michael Passanante, SVP of Marketing & Communications at Capital Rx, to share the story behind the strategic alliance between the organizations and their vision to reimagine pharmacy and provide better care to patients across the country leveraging n...

Navigating and understanding government programs in healthcare can be a daunting task. In this podcast episode, Jason Barretto, Vice President of Government Program Operations at Capital Rx, joins Justin Venneri to shed light on the complexities of regulatory compliance and the importance of meeting the intent of legislation and regulations, including the CENTERS for MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVIC...

Per member per month (PMPM) cost plays a crucial role in healthcare, particularly in pharmacy benefit management. On this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare Podcast, Kristen Begley, PharmD , Chief Commercial Officer at Capital Rx, emphasizes the significance of PMPM guarantees and how they help hold pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) accountable for total drug spend. The PMPM calculation provides...

Capital Rx Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Ryan Kelly joins Justin Venneri for a discussion about the opportunity to bring efficiency to an industry reliant on "horrendously and horribly inefficient" technology and the benefits that modern technology can bring to the administration of a pharmacy benefit program. Some benefits include centralizing all operational workflows and health inform...

In this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast, Justin Venneri interviews Josh Golden, who brings his extensive experience as a healthcare consultant and Senior Vice President of Strategy at Capital Rx to the discussion to highlight key questions that plan sponsors should ask to future-proof their pharmacy benefit programs. It is crucial to understand how PBMs make money and how much a plan...

In this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare podcast, Dr. Sunil Budhrani, Chief Innovation and Medical Officer at Capital Rx, discusses the intersection of value-based care and pharmacy. He explains the concept of value-based care in a clear and relatable way and describes how it has evolved over the years. Dr. Budhrani, who remains an active ER physician, shares his experiences from different ro...

On this episode of The Astonishing Healthcare Podcast, Amy Stockton, PharmD, who manages the clinical care team at Capital Rx, discusses what, exactly, her team of pharmacists in a non-traditional, managed care setting does (hint: it's a lot behind the scenes). She highlights the clinical programs the team supports, including low-cost alternative, pharmacogenomics, and medication therapy managemen...

Discover the ins and outs of Medicare Star Ratings and CMS translation requirements in this insightful podcast episode. Join Capital Rx's Justin Venneri and Jay Tran, PharmD as they delve into the significance of Star Ratings for health plans and Medicare payers, discussing what the ratings are based on, what drives bonus payments, as well as the role of medication therapy management (MTM) in star...

In this episode of the Astonishing Healthcare Podcast, Jeffrey Hogan, President of Upside Health Advisors, shares his insights on the current state of healthcare and the challenges plan sponsors, including employers and other payers, face. He discusses the importance of aligning supply and demand in the healthcare system in the post-COVID era, the significance of the Consolidated Appropriations Ac...

Brian TenEyck, National Director of Consultant Relations at Capital Rx, shares his insights on the pharmacy benefit management (PBM) industry in episode 3 of The Astonishing Healthcare Podcast. He discusses the importance of early engagement in pharmacy procurement and building strong relationships with vendor partners. Brian also addresses the increasing utilization of GLP-1 drugs and suggests co...

Bridget Mulvenna joined Erickson Senior Living to manage pharmacy costs and develop the pharmacy program. She ended up applying what she had learned over years of working in various pharmacy settings and in pharmacy procurement to their pharmacy benefit programs. In this episode of The Astonishing Healthcare Podcast, Bridget shares why it's so hard to control pharmacy costs, as well as her thought...

Capital Rx Co-Founder & CEO AJ Loiacono is our guest for the first-ever episode of The. Astonishing Healthcare Podcast! AJ discusses the path to becoming a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM), why and how using JUDI® aided in the development of a next-generation enterprise health platform, challenges growing through the pandemic and with remote work, what plan sponsors need from their PBM partn...