Dartmouth-Hitchcock

Key Experiences and Career Milestones

When I started my career, I had a very clear and simple goal: to make a difference. I understood then and still do now, that impact can happen in a workday, within a department, across a hospital, or through developing new ways to provide care.

My journey toward leading Telepharmacy at Dartmouth Health has been circuitous but deeply rewarding. I’ve been shaped by conversations with colleagues about why they chose healthcare and what they see as working or broken within it. Early on, I focused on optimizing medication workflows in hospital settings, which exposed both the potential and the limitations of traditional pharmacy models.

Early in my career, the ‘gold standard’ of practice had visible cracks that required new-to-healthcare tools to create safer, more effective environments. Those experiences, paired with reflection and curiosity, taught me how valuable it is to pair clinical expertise with digital innovation. My current work focuses on extending pharmacist support to hospitals of all sizes—especially rural ones—in sustainable and cost-effective ways.

Adapting Strategy across Borders

Each healthcare ecosystem operates within its own cultural, regulatory and logistical realities, but the shared goal is always the same: safe, reliable care. I’ve learned that understanding the ‘why’ behind USP, WHO and Joint Commission standards helps guide more meaningful solutions.

When adapting across borders, the approach isn’t about imposing one system onto another. It’s about translating principles into practice in ways that fit the local context. Consistency in quality and safety can coexist with flexibility and success often depends on listening first, then designing systems that empower local teams to thrive. It also requires understanding the current state before applying previous experience to the problem set.

Inspiration behind Telepharmacy

Early in my career, the pharmacy I led experienced a severe staffing shortage, with about 40% of positions unfilled. I remember interviewing a candidate who said they weren’t interested in the job; they were just curious why there was such a shortage. That conversation was a wake-up call.

Innovation isn’t about technology for its own sake. It’s about creating systems that help people deliver better care and find more purpose in their work.

Staffing instability can create enormous strain on those who stay, fueling a negative feedback loop that’s hard to reverse. It took time, creativity and persistence, but we turned that around. Those lessons directly inspired the work at the Dartmouth Health Telepharmacy initiative.

The service we’ve built provides flexible, dependable support to pharmacy departments, regardless of their EHR system or location. Every department faces unique challenges, but when there’s an affordable way to supplement staffing and expertise, the entire network becomes more resilient.

Technologies Bridging Clinical Care and Digital Infrastructure

Technology, when it’s done right, should feel almost invisible. It should make care easier, safer and more connected. At Dartmouth Health, our goal has been to build systems that support people rather than replace them. We rely on electronic health records that integrate with communication platforms, allowing pharmacists to review orders remotely while staying in contact with care teams. Data analytics tools help us identify trends quickly and our flexible model allows hospitals to experiment and improve without having to commit permanent staff to their first idea.

At Dartmouth Health Connected Care, we often say, “The technology we use is the least interesting thing about us.” Healthcare is reaching an inflection point where we must decide whether technology will truly empower our work or become a burden. Our focus is to make sure it always serves the former.

Advice for Emerging Leaders

For anyone hoping to lead innovation in healthcare, start by listening. The best ideas often come from unexpected places— from the bedside, from technicians and from the quiet problem-solvers—who see what’s really happening every day.

Stay curious and patient-focused. Embrace discomfort as part of the process; it’s often the first sign you’re onto something meaningful. Above all, remember that innovation isn’t about technology for its own sake. It’s about creating systems that help people deliver better care and find more purpose in their work.

Additional Insights

Looking ahead, I see telepharmacy—and healthcare more broadly—continuing to evolve through AI-assisted tools and expanding computational resources. What will remain critical for the foreseeable future is our ability to ask the right questions of the tools we use. These systems can make our work more proactive, helping identify issues before they reach the patient.

Even as technology advances, our mission stays the same: to use innovation to strengthen human connection in healthcare. Technology should amplify clinical judgment and give us more time with patients, not less.