Pharmpreneur of the Week Jeff May: "I firmly believe in the importance of discovering more efficient methods to deliver care."
Snapshot:
Education: B.Sc.Pharmacy, University of Alberta
Role/Title: Board Member, HumanisRx
Currently searching for a new leadership opportunity
What excites you about being an entrepreneur?
My excitement stems from having the courage to tackle challenges head-on, discover innovative approaches to achieve objectives, venture into uncharted territories, drive economic value, and effectively address genuine customer needs. It involves daring to break free from the constraints of the status quo with determination and resilience.
How has your entrepreneurial career evolved since your graduation?
Driven by my passion to enhance the practice of pharmacy within Canada's healthcare system, I ventured into business leadership from direct clinical practice. I embraced an entrepreneurial mindset as a personal value, applying it within both private and corporate business structures.
One of my recent entrepreneurial achievements involved the development of a new venture called HumanisRx. This innovative initiative utilizes clinical expertise to provide support for workplace disability management programs, with the primary goal of expediting the return-to-work process. It specifically focuses on ensuring optimal medication outcomes in mental health, pain management and chronic diseases.
Driven by this entrepreneurial mindset, we successfully developed a cutting-edge clinical analytics platform. The software identifies medication risks at both the population and individual patient levels, serving as a catalyst for targeted interventions aimed at improving overall care.
What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?
There have always been challenges confronting pharmacists, the pharmacy industry, and healthcare in Canada. Canadians consistently encounter difficulties with medication therapies, including issues with adherence, adverse effects, unmanaged polypharmacy, and suboptimal outcomes. Pharmacists and healthcare providers operate within imperfect processes and technologies. I firmly believe in the importance of discovering more efficient methods to deliver care.
I am deeply passionate about utilizing entrepreneurial thinking to discover innovative approaches that unlock value, improve medication outcomes, and mitigate the risks associated with medication therapy through more efficient ways to deliver services.
How do you define success?
Successfully implementing a strategy with a highly engaged and passionate team and sharing in the rewards.
As a successful entrepreneur, what continues to drive you?
Even with the significant progress we have made in our profession, there are still numerous opportunities to enhance the delivery of pharmacy and healthcare services to Canadians. Healthcare costs and economic pressures on the pharmacy industry will continue to exist, and we must never become complacent. I believe it is vital to constantly strive to expand our impact and create economic value for pharmacy.
What are the biggest challenges to being an entrepreneur?
Unlocking resources to drive innovation, having patience, managing setbacks, achieving scale and keeping teams engaged to embrace the journey of change.
What books/resources do you recommend for every entrepreneur to check-out?
“Atomic Habits” has had a meaningful impact on me; it’s all about achieving material impacts through tiny, incremental behavioural changes.
What advice would you give to colleagues who want to become entrepreneurs?
Know your place in the industry and define how you will create value. Identify the problem you are solving and the desired outcome. Clarity in your objectives and the plan to achieve them is crucial for personal success and the success of your teams, who will support you in your endeavours. Understand your personal core competency, which represents your essence and brand, and promote it vigorously. Foster a positive culture that embraces change and innovation. Embrace and act upon feedback, and never hesitate to make course corrections toward your ultimate objective. Establish a network of advisors who can serve as your personal board of directors.
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