Randy Seifert Named To Peters Chair In Pharmacy Practice Innovation

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL — Randy Seifert, PharmD, professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives, has been named the Peters Endowed Chair in Pharmacy Practice Innovation, effective July 1, 2017. This new position is a rotating, two-year appointment for College of Pharmacy faculty. Seifert's appointment was made following an external panel review.

The Peters Chair was established as part of a $13.5 million gift from William (Bill) and Mildred Peters to stimulate innovation and research that would advance the practice of pharmacy. Bill, a 1910 College of Pharmacy graduate, along with his wife Mildred owned and operated the Lowry Hills Drugstore in Minneapolis for 33 years.

Seifert has extensive experience in managed care, medical group management, clinical research, pharmacy services management, and academics. He has practiced in several settings including hospital, long term care, clinical research, medical group management and managed care. He also has developed viable business models for community-based medication therapy management services.

As the Peters Chair, Seifert plans to study how best to meet the comprehensive mental and physical health needs of rural Minnesota, and in particular evaluate the impact a community mental health center and community pharmacy interprofessional team has on mental health patient outcomes.

“This project proposes a novel practice model to meet the unmet health needs of rural Minnesota by creating a powerful and intentional partnership between pharmacists providing comprehensive pharmacy care services, including medication management, and mental health care providers, harnessing a variety of strategies already in place, such as telehealth, but utilizing them in new and enhanced ways,” said Seifert. “This project will also incorporate students from a variety of health professional programs to ensure a qualified workforce to sustain and expand the delivery of quality comprehensive care to the entire state of Minnesota. This project can serve as a model for addressing unmet needs of a population that is underserved with limited access, poorly coordinated care, in many cases lack of community transitional care and multiple health conditions requiring complex medication therapy. My collaborators and I will document impact and sustainability through population health, patient experience and cost metrics.”

Along with his new role as Peters Chair, Seifert will serve as a co-director of the college's Center for Leading Healthcare Change, and will have an affiliate appointment as a Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Care & Health Systems. He will also serve as Director of Advocacy within the Professional and External Relations Division, and will oversee government relations activities, including working with the Advocacy Task Force, and serving as a liaison to the Board of Pharmacy and the Minnesota Society of Health Systems Pharmacy Board of Directors.

“As Senior Associate Dean on the Duluth campus since 2006, Randy has been instrumental in building the Duluth branch campus and building relationships with practitioners and policymakers around the state,” said Dean Marilyn Speedie. “Though Randy will relocate to the Twin Cities, he will remain tenured in PPPS and maintain his ties to Duluth. A new Senior Associate Dean will be named soon.”

Seifert received his bachelor's degree in pharmacy from North Dakota State University and his doctor of pharmacy degree from the University of Minnesota. He also completed a post-doctoral fellowship in pharmacokinetics at the
U of M.