Holly Smith Has a Prescription for Better Care

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Holly Smith started her career in a retail pharmacy, which she’s grateful for today as ambulatory care pharmacy director at UToledo Health. Early on, Smith was promoted quickly, requiring her to focus on matters far outside her own performance to achieve results.

“That experience helped pave the foundation for developing a deep understanding of the operational side of an outpatient pharmacy service,” Smith says. “I also developed effective communication skills and learning how to multitask, balancing many different activities simultaneously.”

That foundation has helped Smith align the UToledo Health retail pharmacy enterprise with its employee prescription benefit service, which the director describes as a key strategy for both cost containment and improving overall employee satisfaction.

One of Smith’s most impactful initiatives is developing a one-stop-shop patient care model. This framework strategically places outpatient pharmacies in high-traffic patient care areas, making it more convenient for University of Toledo employees and UToledo Health patients to fill their prescriptions.

“This has played a tremendous role in our ability to capture employee prescriptions,” Smith explains. “That has led, in turn, to savings that we’ve recognized within our employee prescription benefit service.”

Thanks to the growth of the university’s specialty pharmacy enterprise, Smith says the organization has kept a majority of specialty prescriptions in-house. This move has created a dramatic rise in overall savings, especially for high-dollar, high-cost medications. The university has passed along these savings to employees.

Smith is also passionate about transitions of care, which she explains refers to patients moving between different healthcare settings. The  director sees this area as integral to her leadership role within the hospital and within her team of pharmacists ensuring patient medication-related needs are met.  

“As a pharmacist, my primary goal is providing safe and effective medication therapies to patients to improve outcomes,” Smith explains. “I also have a passion for developing new, innovative services that enhance the care that we’re providing for our patients.”

The University of Toledo’s transition of care program aligns closely with Smith’s mission to find meaningful ways to improve patient care. The program focuses on ensuring continuity, safety, and effective communication through a patient’s health journey and requires smooth coordination with the university’s outpatient pharmacy service.

“Healthcare is so complex for patients to navigate,” Smith says. “We are providing the transition from an inpatient hospital stay to their homes by providing medications to our patients at the bedside. That enables us to remain engaged and connected with our patients, keeping them healthy after they’re out of the hospital.”

The wide-ranging transitions of care program minimizes the disruption that patients often face. Smith says that a dedicated team is in place to manage insurance issues and solve medication-related problems internally before they become problems for patients.

“We are providing the transition from an inpatient hospital stay to their homes by providing medications to our patients at the bedside. That enables us to remain engaged and connected with our patients, keeping them healthy after they’re out of the hospital.”

Holly Smith

Smith says her success in building out these programs is meaningful because of the challenges she faced in the retail environment earlier in her career.

“I struggled trying to build a business in a retail pharmacy,” Smith says. “But it was such a valuable experience that coalesced when I came here and saw the opportunity to create this business. I needed to learn from my previous experiences and be willing to take that leap of faith. Fortunately, there is a fantastic leadership team here that supports innovative thinking, and I have the support to create those patient-centered programs.”

Smith says that her own leadership approach always comes back to strong communication. She strives to communicate clearly and transparently and to listen actively.

“I try to create an open environment for my team, where they feel heard,” Smith explains. “You need to communicate in a way that expresses your thoughts and expectations clearly. But you can’t do that if your team doesn’t feel like they can be open and honest themselves.”

She says some of the best ideas come from frontline support staff, employees who may not feel comfortable speaking their minds. She encourages everyone to share their ideas freely.

Smith takes mentoring seriously. Over the years, she has mentored introductory and advanced pharmacy students, interns, pharmacy residents, and others. Smith says that mentoring is a great way to grow as a leader and a meaningful way to give back.

“The long-term impact of mentorship creates valuable and lasting relationships,” Smith says. “It creates this ripple effect, where the impact of your guidance spreads far beyond your immediate relationship with an employee. That means a lot to me.”

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