Shields Health Solutions Awards Resident Research Grant

Natalie Kanimian, PharmD, awarded $5K to advance health system specialty pharmacy

STOUGHTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shields Health Solutions (Shields), the nation’s premier specialty pharmacy accelerator, is proud to award a resident research grant in the amount of $5,000 to supplement existing projects or initiatives which advance health system specialty pharmacy in Q4 of 2022. It marks the third straight year Shields has offered grants to qualified health systems in the interest of advancing their health system-based specialty pharmacy.

“Our research grant program is central to our mission to improve health system specialty pharmacies through innovation,” said Brian Smith, Chief Pharmacy Officer at Shields. “By enhancing specialty pharmacy services across health systems, we can deliver high quality and cost-effective care across a range of complex disease states. We are proud to support another project to elevate specialty pharmacy services and ameliorate patient outcomes.”

Natalie Kanimian, PharmD, a pharmacy resident at the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy, earned a grant for her study on limiting risk factors for patients with autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, atopic dermatitis, psoriatic arthritis, giant cell arteritis or idiopathic arthritis. Kanimian’s research will be supported by Dr. Negin Sazgar, Co-Investigator, Dr. Havan Truong, Residency Site Coordinator and Co-Investigator, and Dr. Richard Dang, Residency Program Director.

The study aims to determine the impact of a pharmacist-led dyslipidemia management service in a specialty community pharmacy setting on patients with autoimmune disease. It will establish protocols for specialty pharmacies, allowing them to monitor and evaluate the incidence of dyslipidemia, an imbalance of lipids, in patients with autoimmune conditions who also receive agents that increase the risk for dyslipidemia. It will also document how pharmacists manage these symptoms and recommend treatment options before complications occur.

“Dyslipidemia is a treatable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and studies have shown lipid-lowering strategies could alleviate that risk,” said Kanimian. “Dyslipidemia management represents an opportunity for pharmacists to manage, monitor and educate patients to improve their outcomes. With the support of the resident research grant from Shields Health Solutions, we can compile data on dyslipidemia management and create a recommended protocol.”

Shields-partnered health systems qualify for the grant, which includes more than 75 health systems across 43 states with nearly 1,000 hospitals nationwide.

To learn more about Shields, visit https://www.shieldshealthsolutions.com/

About Shields Health Solutions
Shields Health Solutions (Shields) is the premier specialty pharmacy accelerator in the country. The Shields Performance Platform, an integrated set of solutions, services and technology, is intentionally designed to elevate payer and drug access for specialty pharmacies, elevate health outcomes for complex patients, and elevate growth throughout the entire health system. As the foremost experts in the health system specialty pharmacy industry, Shields has a proven track record of success including access to over 80 percent of all limited distribution drugs (LDDs) and most (health insurance) payers in the nation; and a clinical model proven to lower total cost of care by 13%. In partnership with more than 70 health systems across the country through national-scale collaboration, Shields has a vested interest in delivering measurable clinical and financial results for health systems. For more, visit our blog and follow us on social media, @ShieldsRX, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.