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Holladay, Utah, is a city in central Salt Lake County known for its strong sense of community, a trait that heavily influenced Eric Cannon. For the last twenty-six years, he has lived within three blocks of his childhood home. When he and his wife started their own family, their kids went to school with the children of their own childhood friends. It’s a tight-knit community where everyone knows each other.
It is that kind of community culture that made Cannon consider a career in pharmacy. Initially aspiring to become a dentist, his path changed while working as a delivery boy for a local pharmacy. The pharmacy owner suggested he consider pharmacy as a career, and the idea gradually became more appealing to Cannon.
“He said after finishing school, I could work for him, which created a vision of working in my community and working with the friends, family, and neighbors I care about,” Cannon says. “I realized that it would be nice taking care of people that were so present in my life and to develop those connections.”
Cannon pursued his degree from Idaho State University and returned to Holladay to begin his pharmacy journey. After three years, he reevaluated his priorities, noting the importance of family time. While he had spent years learning the ins and outs of the profession, he wanted to spend more time with his wife and kids. That realization prompted him to part ways with the pharmacy.
“That time off was the best three months of my life and gave me a great feeling that I’ve carried throughout the rest of my career,” he says. “From then on, I saw that I needed to work for places that allowed me to prioritize things in my life. And as I became a leader, I found it important to give my employees freedom to do the same.”
Cannon found that kind of company in Select Health, the largest nonprofit integrated health system in the Mountain West. After serving as pharmacy utilization coordinator, assistant director of pharmacy, and now, chief pharmacy officer, he has shaped the future of pharmacy benefits for nearly two million members.
“People are looking for an ethical relationship and they’re tired of being taken advantage of.”
Eric Cannon
Beside managing $2 billion in pharmaceutical purchases, overseeing operational aspects of pharmacy products, and managing 170 full time employees, Cannon’s proudest achievement has been building a strong team.
“I’m most proud of the ability to build a team that values trust, fairness, and listens to each other’s ideas,” he says. “Knowing each member individually and maintaining strong relationships is critical. On my leadership team, everyone has been here nearly twenty years, which is remarkable because people in this industry don’t stay in one place. The fact that I’ve been able to have an amazing team who want to stay means a lot.”
In 2021, Cannon’s role expanded, and he became general manager of Scripius, a Select Health company, and pharmacy benefit manager focused on reducing prescription drug costs. He works to bring a community-centered philosophy to the work he and his colleagues perform for the people and members they serve.
“We are still part of this community. When one in three people in the region buy your products, you’re taking care of a million people where you live and you’re taking care of your neighbors,” Cannon explains. “As we step out with Scripius, we’re taking that same philosophy to the market. We now treat people like this across the country.”
Transparency has been a core value of the Scripius approach.
“We offer full transparency to our clients. We own our rebate contracts and that means we can allow people to see upstream specific to their case,” he says. “People are looking for an ethical relationship and they’re tired of being taken advantage of. We want to bring them that transparency and disrupt the market.”
Cannon advises other leaders to hold their ethics and values close, as they define the success and morale of a team.
“When you compromise your values, it’s hard to recover because people see that,” he explains. “As leaders, we can often underestimate the real meaning of ethics in the world we live in. Being real and holding true to what you believe in is critical.”
Building relationships is another key value, Cannon emphasizes.
“In a world that leans towards automation, relationships still play a significant role in our daily interactions,” Cannon adds. “In pharmacy, these relationships are essential and lead to strong community connections. They create trust, ensure personalized care, and provide the human touch that technology cannot replace, highlighting the value of genuine human interaction.”
PayerAlly‘s mission is to provide our clients with industry leading advisement, strategic support, and oversight as they look to better manage the rising cost of prescription medications across the pharmacy and medical benefit. Our services include procurement, PBM auditing, vendor management, strategy, and ongoing financial monitoring. To learn more about pharmacy benefit consulting without conflicts, please visit our website: www.payerally.com.
Rx Savings Solutions (RxSS), part of McKesson Corporation, works on behalf of health plans and employers to help their members reduce out-of-pocket prescription costs and the plan’s pharmacy spend. The solution layers over existing pharmacy benefits and analyzes individual claims to identify cost-saving alternatives for each member. When savings opportunities are found, members are proactively notified through preferred communication channels. They engage with RxSS through an online portal, mobile app and live, concierge member support provided by certified pharmacy technicians. RxSS currently serves 18 million members nationwide and is proud to have worked with Select Health since 2020.
