Q: Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Pawtucket, RI and have lived in Rhode Island my whole life.
Q: Where did you go to college?
I actually did not attend a 4-year college, and currently have an Associates degree. The majority of my education is through on the job training. The world of 340B is very complex and there is no amount of formal education that could prepare someone for the variety of technology systems utilized and the complexities of the 340B program, data and ever-changing regulations.
Q: What are your favorites?
Food: Pizza
Movie: Casino, the Departed
Musicians: Tom Petty, John Fogerty (CCR), Chris Stapleton
Destination: White Mountains in New Hampshire
Q: What do you like to do outside of work?
I am a big family man and spend most of my time outside of work with my wife and three children. My wife and I coach all their softball and baseball teams in addition to sitting on the league board, helping to grow these programs within our community. When I am not on the diamond coaching or playing myself, you can either find me at a campground or playing with my band at one of our local bars or restaurants.
Q: What kind of work does your company do in 340B and what makes it stand out?
Visante does just about anything and everything 340B related, from 340B optimization to auditing and program management. I oversee our 340B Program Management team, which supports covered entities to either supplement or manage their 340B program when they lack the staff or expertise to do so themselves. We help extensively with routine compliance monitoring, contract pharmacy expansion, managing manufacturer restrictions and ESP workflows and general TPA maintenance, to name a few.
Our 340B team stands out due to the fantastic team of industry experts from a variety of backgrounds that have seen almost every situation that could come up in a 340B program. We pride ourselves on working with all types of covered entities across all EMR vendors and all TPA technology, referral capture and optimization platforms.
Q: Why did you choose to work in the 340B space?
Like many others in the 340B space, I fell into it as the result of working in pharmacy, a colleague retirement and being the most familiar with all of the impacted systems. Once I was directly working in the 340B world, I found that the complex nature of system integrations and inventory models fit well with my purchasing background. In addition, as a pharmacy technician, 340B presents as one of the areas of pharmacy where there is a lot of opportunity for growth, whether that comes from optimization or compliance efforts.
Q: What do you feel is your most significant contribution to the 340B world or to a 340B customer/client?
In my time at Visante, I am confident that my team and I have been able to contribute significantly in the world of manufacturer restrictions and 340B ESP. We support many clients through the complexities of the restrictions and have had a lot of success in helping CEs realize the remaining value that is left. In addition, I have been able to work with several CEs with leaders new to 340B and have helped to mentor and educate on the program, which is always an opportunity for growth for myself also.
Q: What advice do you have for a young professional who has recently launched a career in the 340B space?
I would recommend that any young professional in 340B continue learning as much as possible and push forward. Whether this is through self-directed education or pursuing additional certifications such as the 340B ACE (Apexus), there is always additional content available to allow you to learn and grow. It is also important to recognize when you do not know something and how to find an answer and a resource for collaboration. Nobody knows everything about 340B but knowing how to track down answers and develop a strong stakeholder network is a tremendous benefit.
For questions, Sean can be reached at shall@visante.com.
