Hannah Aker

Hannah Aker is a pharmacist at Cone Health, where she currently serves as the medication access supervisor. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from High Point University and her Master of Science in Health System Pharmacy Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Hannah completed her PGY1/PGY2 HSPAL residency program at Cone Health, where she spent two years developing her leadership, operational, and clinical pharmacy skills. She has been with Cone Health for nearly three years and recently achieved Board Certification in Pharmacotherapy (BCPS). Hannah is passionate about improving medication access and optimizing pharmacy services to enhance patient care across the health system.

Facility:
Cone Health is a not-for-profit healthcare delivery system headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, serving the Piedmont Triad region and surrounding counties through a comprehensive network of hospitals, outpatient clinics, and medical practices. The system includes multiple acute-care facilities such as Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, Wesley Long Hospital, Alamance Regional Medical Center, Annie Penn Hospital, and the Cone Health Behavioral Health Hospital, as well as more than 150 locations including outpatient clinics, ambulatory care centers, urgent care sites, and physician practices. Founded in 1953, Cone Health has a long history of clinical innovation. During expansion in the early 1960s, Moses Cone Hospital opened North Carolina’s first Intensive Care Unit. In December 2024, Cone Health completed a strategic partnership to become part of Risant Health, a nonprofit organization created by Kaiser Foundation Hospitals. This collaboration aims to strengthen Cone Health’s capacity to expand value-based care and improve health outcomes while maintaining its name, mission, and local leadership.

Current Responsibilities:
In my current role, I supervise approximately 30 pharmacy technicians who are responsible for completing prior authorizations to support timely patient access to medications. I assist in managing large-scale quality improvement initiatives and contribute to the development and execution of our strategic vision. I oversee and maintain strong relationships with both internal clinic partners and external vendors to ensure effective collaboration and operational success. While I do not currently offer a rotation for students or residents, I am eager to develop a learning experience in the future to help mentor and train the next generation of pharmacy professionals.

Recent Significant Projects:
Between August and December, I led the implementation of an AI vendor to expand our team’s capacity to manage a higher volume of prior authorizations across the health system. This initiative also enabled us to take on more complex prior authorization cases, improving efficiency, scalability, and overall access to care.

Advice for Someone New to a Specialty Area:
My advice to someone new to this area is to prioritize strong partnerships with providers, as collaboration is essential to prior authorization success. The PA process can be frustrating for both providers and patients, so approaching each situation with empathy, teamwork, and a focus on education is key to achieving the best outcomes.

Involvement with ASHP:
I am currently involved with the Community Pharmacy Practioners group and was previously part of the PALRC collaborative when I was a resident. I have attended the last four Midyears in a row!

Reason for ASHP involvement:
I was a member of ASHP as a student and have continued my involvement since then.

Value of ASHP for Peers or Colleagues:
I find ASHP valuable because it supports pharmacists across both health-system, community, and ambulatory practice. It keeps me up to date through continuing education opportunities, best practice recommendations, and advocacy while also creating great opportunities to connect with pharmacists in different settings. ASHP helps me grow professionally while staying connected to the bigger picture of our profession.

Value of ASHP for the Profession:
ASHP serves as a strong advocate for the pharmacy profession by representing pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians across all patient care settings and acting as their collective voice on issues related to medication use and public health. It works with policymakers, regulators, and other healthcare organizations to advance the role of pharmacists as clinical providers and expand their scope of practice. ASHP’s advocacy also includes promoting policies that support sustainable pharmacy services, payment for pharmacist-provided care, and enhanced roles for pharmacy technicians.