Q: Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Henderson, TN. It’s a small town in southwest Tennessee. It’s a very rural area; very large farming community. I still live in the area, in the next small town over called Selmer.
Q: Where did you go to college?
I earned my B.S. in Education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I studied Sport Management & Marketing there. Later, I earned my PharmD from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis.
Q: What are your favorites?
Food: Sushi/Hibachi
Movie: I am definitely a movie guy so there is no one favorite but one I can watch just about anytime is Heartbreak Ridge.
Musicians: Aerosmith, Chris Stapleton
Destination: Queenstown, New Zealand and Ft. Morgan, Alabama
Q: What do you like to do outside of work?
I have three daughters, so they keep my wife and me pretty busy with school sports, but other than that, I enjoy classic cars and any kind of tech project.
Q: What kind of work does your company do in 340B and what makes it stand out?
VytlOne conducts an in-depth analysis of 340B utilization and identifies strategic improvements to maximize benefits. Our experts help with 340B compliance, TPA optimization, and analytics and reporting support. My team specifically designs and enhances a suite of reporting to help drive better decisions faster using all the data available around the 340B program.
Q: Why did you choose to work in the 340B space?
I transitioned over into the world of data from the traditional pharmacy world after seeing the impact meaningful data can have on an organization. I wanted to learn how to build those things while also utilizing my pharmacist background.
Q: What do you feel is your most significant contribution to the 340B world or to a 340B customer/client?
As a data nerd who is also a pharmacy nerd, I have the unique ability to walk in both worlds. Members of our clinical and operations team don’t have to teach me pharmacy and our data team doesn’t have to teach me all the technical pieces. I can translate what the client is looking for into actionable data-driven insights.
Q: What advice do you have for a young professional who has recently launched a career in the 340B space?
Pharmacists ask me all the time how to break into data. My advice is roll your sleeves up and do the work. Seek people out do are doing what you want to do and ask questions. You can’t be scared to try and fail. Use your experience and build your skills to fill in the gaps.
For questions, Clay can be reached at clay.cooper@vytlone.com.
