The 2019 GoodRx Pharmacy Innovation Scholarship – See the Winners and Their Ideas to Change the Pharmacy Industry

We’re excited to announce the winners of the first-ever GoodRx Pharmacy Innovation Scholarship! We asked pharmacy and pharmacy technician students (and recent graduates) to interview a pharmacy staff member in their community to learn about current practices and consider what could be improved. 

We had a blast reading more than 100 thoughtful ideas for improving patient health outcomes, tackling everyday pharmacy issues, and bolstering the pharmacy profession. In the end, we selected the following 10 students to be our official 2019 GoodRx Scholars and receive $1,000 each to support their academic and career goals. 

Congratulations to the winners on their outstanding ideas!

John Hilyard 

Roseman University of Health Sciences, Class of 2020

John believes technology can improve how insurance information is used by both patients and pharmacy staff. Creating a barcode system for insurance cards can help minimize input errors at the pharmacy, and linking insurance cards to a mobile app can allow patients to understand their prescription benefits better and know whether their medications are covered before they even get to the pharmacy.

Jasmine Corn 

University of Georgia: College of Pharmacy, Class of 2021

According to Jasmine, the future of community pharmacies lies in developing unique pharmacy services to generate new streams of revenue and create more direct patient care opportunities. She believes these needs can be met by adding more immunization programs, designing better pill packaging for improved adherence and medication reconciliation, and offering an accredited diabetes education program to support the community.

Trace Bartels

University of Arizona: College of Pharmacy, Class of 2020

Trace identifies burnout as a common problem in the pharmacy profession. He wants to support his colleagues by creating an organization solely dedicated to upholding the well-being and resilience of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. This group would offer resources to support pharmacy staff both inside and outside of work, such as an online forum to discuss work-related issues, sponsored conferences and social events, and member discounts to encourage exercise and healthy eating. 

Riya Patel

The University of Texas at Austin, Class of 2021

Riya wants to improve medication therapy management (MTM) services, which are currently often ineffective due to patients receiving care from many different providers and pharmacies. By implementing a secure and shared medical database system (outside of providers’ EHR systems), all pharmacists can keep track of patients’ allergies, lab work, diagnoses, and medications to improve clinical care.

Josiah Allen

University of Minnesota: Twin Cities, Class of 2022

Josiah sees promise in pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing, the study of how genes can affect our individual response to medications. While patients can obtain PGx results from genetic testing companies (such as 23andMe), they have no way of interpreting the results. He believes community pharmacists can bridge this knowledge gap and become the leaders of adapting this new area of research to help patients improve outcomes. 

Brandon Staple

University of Colorado Denver, Class of 2022

After a conversation with an independent pharmacist about new competitors like Amazon, Brandon wants to fight fire with fire — or, in this case, technology with technology. In order to compete with non-traditional players who are leveraging advanced technologies and scale to offer lower prices and convenient home delivery, he thinks independent pharmacies should turn to machine learning to analyze health outcomes and develop personalized medication adherence programs.

Samantha Alcorta 

South Plains College, Class of 2021

For Samantha, helping patients take their medications correctly is hugely important but sometimes overlooked. She believes improving patient safety and adherence starts at the pharmacy. Drug management can be improved by making monitoring and counseling services more accessible to patients, and by offering more education and tools online.

Allyson Ellsworth

University of Texas at Tyler, Class of 2023

Allyson feels there is an urgent need for more advocates for pharmacists and technicians when it comes to valuing the role they play in healthcare systems. She believes that creating more opportunities for pharmacy staff to be heard and respected amongst peers, and educating others on the services they can provide beyond just dispensing medications, is important towards safeguarding the profession.

Luc Robichaud

University of Minnesota: Twin Cities, Class of 2019

According to Luc, large mergers like the one between CVS and Aetna last year can mean difficult times for pharmacies by causing layoffs, pharmacy management issues, and unsatisfied patients — all leading to pharmacist burnout. Luc thinks a better effort needs to be made to reduce these problems as high pharmacist manager turnover and poor patient service quality will result in decreased earnings in the long run.

Corian Hess 

SUNY College at Buffalo, Class of 2023

Corian wants to help community pharmacies think outside the box when it comes to insurance requirements. For one, many insurance providers push patients towards using a preferred mail order pharmacy service. To encourage patients to fill prescriptions at local pharmacies, she suggests offering cash discounts and partnering with delivery services like Instacart.

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Did you miss out on last year’s scholarship? You’re in luck! We will be opening The GoodRx Pharmacy Innovation Scholarship for 2020 submissions in the next few months. Sign up for the newsletter below to be notified!