Q: Where did you grow up?
I grew up in a small neighborhood just outside of downtown Pittsburgh, PA. I am all about the black and gold.
Q: Where did you go to college/graduate school?
I graduated from pharmacy school at Duquesne University, which is right here in Pittsburgh.
Q: What are your favorites?
Food: Well, this is tough. I’m not too picky, so I enjoy just about anything. I will say, though, that I am a sucker for a cheap fast food burger. I may or may have not agreed to pick up an audit assignment or two based on the location having an In-N-Out.
Movie: Again, a tough question. My Netflix watch history suggests “dark and tragic themes”, but I probably shouldn’t freely admit that? I’ll say that “Jurassic Park” is a classic that still holds up today and is a movie I’ll watch again and again.
Musicians: If I’m honest, I’m not big into any specific band or musician. At this stage in life, I am more often listening to what my kids like, so lots of Top 40 hits.
Destination: My wife and I visited Rome, Italy a while back after a pharmacy conference. It was an incredible experience and I would love to go back.
Q: What do you like to do outside of work?
I have a couple of middle-school aged kids, so spending time with them, when they will tolerate me, is a lot of fun. I am golfing a bit more these days, and I like washing the car, believe it or not. I’m that guy that’s always out in the driveway washing a car, it’s probably really annoying to the neighbors.
Q: What kind of work does your company do in 340B and what makes it stand out?
We provide a variety of support services to 340B covered entities. From providing annual audits, to ongoing HRSA audit readiness support, to tackling projects to help a hospital or clinic manage their participation in the 340B program, we are there to help. I think our work stands out because of the depth of knowledge and experience in 340B operations our team members demonstrate. Collectively, I’m pretty confident that our staff has seen it all in the 340B world.
Q: Why did you choose to work in the 340B space?
Like most 340B specialists, it wasn’t necessarily by choice. In my previous role, I worked primarily in a clinical role and hadn’t any intentions of getting involved in 340B Program oversight, and that changed for me pretty quickly based on the needs of the organization. When I joined SpendMend (back under Turnkey Pharmacy Solutions), it was really with the interest of being able to help other covered entities manage the complexities of 340B, knowing that, for most of them, it is a critical component of their being able to provide care to vulnerable patient populations.
Q: What do you feel is your most significant contribution to the 340B world or to a 340B customer/client?
Shepherding a customer through a HRSA audit is always rewarding. On a broader level, we have gotten great feedback on the podcast that we do, 340B Unscripted. Occasionally we get emails from listeners who share sentiments about how they were able to solve a complex compliance issue or nail a job interview, because they listened to us ramble on about 340B. Those emails are fun to read.
Q: What advice do you have for a young professional who has recently launched a career in the 340B space?
Get comfortable with “living in the grey”. I think the nature of regulatory oversight of 340B is challenging to grasp particularly for people who come from a pharmacy background. We are used to very explicit “right or wrong” determinations in pharmacy, and that line of thinking doesn’t often work in 340B. There is an incredible amount of interpretation that needs to occur in order to make an assessment around 340B program compliance. That being said, you also need to stay connected to what is happening in the 340B community. Commit to researching 340B hot topics on a regular basis, and invest some time in consuming 340B educational material and commentary that is out there, and you’ll have a good sense of where things stand in terms of the 340B environment.
For questions, can be reached at Greg can be reached at gwilson@spendmend.com.
