James R. Houpt Jr.

James R. Houpt Jr. completed his PharmD at St. Louis College of Pharmacy in 2009 and earned his MBA in 2018 at Drury University. He is currently the director of pharmacy at Multicare Tacoma General Hospital, a Level 2 trauma center with decentralized pharmacy services across the campus in the emergency department, critical care (both neuro and cardiovascular), internal medicine, transitions of care, antimicrobial stewardship, and informatics. Houpt precepts the leadership rotation at this institution and holds monthly residency topic discussions on leadership. He has also served as an ASHP representative to the House of Delegates from 2021-2023 and is slated to take over as a director at large on the Washington State Pharmacy Association Board of Directors in 2024.

What type of significant projects have you been involved in recently?
We are in the process of transitioning Rhogam from Lab/Blood bank controlled to pharmacy as a med safety initiative to enhance patient safety, updated all of our Pyxis/Carousel/C2 Safe to provide enhanced cybersecurity across the system, and implemented a new enterprise management system with Workday. Also, the health system standardized our medication crash cart trays across our hospitals and off campus emergency departments, implemented a new closed system transfer device to enhance staff safety, and finally launched the use of Moxi, a delivery robot used to deploy medications, supplies, and labs throughout the health system.

What advice would you provide for someone new to your specialty area?
Your network is your net worth; continue to integrate yourself into local, state, and national organizations. The more you grow your network within the profession, the opportunities that present themself are ones that you may not have had the chance to take advantage of on your own. Get involved, it takes less overall time than you would think and the value of that time is priceless.

What is your current involvement with ASHP?
I'm finishing up a two-year term in the ASHP House of Delegates representing the state of Washington and recently presented a management pearl at the 2023 ASHP Midyear in Anaheim. I'd previously presented with a colleague on an ASHP webinar back in 2019 on RFID technology.

Why did you become involved in ASHP?
I was looking for ways to grow my network both locally and nationally as I made the transition from Missouri to Washington. I had seen the value having a broad network of colleagues had in my time in Missouri and hoped to be able to meet more great people in our profession in the state of Washington.

How would you explain the value of ASHP to a friend or colleague?
ASHP is a voice for our profession, but on a pharmacy professional level, it's a great integrator to meet colleagues both locally and from across the country to share ideas. The pharmacy profession is unique as we are always looking to build each other up and make our colleagues better as it is for the betterment of the profession. Whether it is attending a conference, service on a committee, running to be a delegate, looking for a spot on the board, or attending a webinar; there are so many ways for people to get involved and benefit from the organization. Find the one that best fits your current situation in life and your career.

What is the value of ASHP for the profession?
ASHP is the collective voice of health system pharmacy, speaking to the clinical value, operational abilities, safety maintaining, leadership forward, and collaborative patient facing essence that makes up our profession.