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For more than seventy years, the Boston-based Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School’s principal teaching hospital, has been at the forefront of innovative cancer research and treatments. A leader in precision cancer medicine, immunotherapy, and targeted therapies, Dana-Farber attracts top oncology researchers, clinicians, and leaders.
In 2018, Jason Poquette elected to join this institution when he accepted a role as director of specialty pharmacy. The director provides operational and strategic vision, focusing on the growth and innovation of Dana-Farber’s specialty pharmacy services.
Poquette oversees and supports a management team in charge of outpatient and specialty pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and prescription benefit and resource specialists, each of whom are critical for the overall success of the program. He collaborates both internally and externally with stakeholders throughout the organization to ensure the highest-quality patient care.
The director sums it up simply: “I learned early in my career that everything, everything hinges on relationships. Whether you’re trying to grow a new business, bring a team together, or partner with a new vendor to test out a new piece of technology, it’s only going to work if everyone involved feels like they’re getting what they want out of that relationship, with clear expectations and collaboration.”
“Changing pharmacy management systems is challenging. It’s critical to have a strong leader who can steer the change management process. That’s where Jason came in—he’s a very focused leader who helped his team understand the benefits, or the ‘why’ behind the move and, as a result, positioned his organization to operate more efficiently,” says Maureen Meyer, VP of product development at McKesson Pharmacy Systems LLC.
Poquette grew up in the retail space as a pharmacy manager for both Brooks Pharmacy (now Rite Aid) and a relative newcomer to the Northeast at the time—a little outfit called Walmart. The big blue didn’t have much of an established pharmacy operation in the northeast at the time, but it was entrepreneurial about growing its business. Poquette says Walmart essentially handed him the keys to the pharmacy and encouraged him to find out what he was capable of building.
At Walmart, Poquette learned how to interact with his community, to seek out stakeholders, and to manage up in an organization. “Working for Walmart was more like working for a country than a company. They are a huge organization. Networking internally was critical for success.”
Poquette met locally with senior groups and established himself as a resource for patients with questions. While working on his pharmacy business and management skills, he continued working on his own leadership and management skills as well. “You never stop learning when it comes to leadership,” he says.
One of the most intriguing parts of Poquette’s journey is just how quickly he started lifting other people up. No sooner was he out of pharmacy school that he began mentoring students from the nearby Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, where Poquette has remained as adjunct faculty since 2004.
“I learned early in my career that everything, everything hinges on relationships.”
Jason Poquette
“I knew I wanted to pass on what I was learning to the next generation of pharmacists. I taught them basic people management skills, what business metrics to monitor, the importance of efficient pharmacy workflows, and hopefully I was able to provide some solutions to some of those pitfalls you come across early in your career,” the director says.
That experience sharing went both ways. Poquette says staying in touch with new graduates always gives him the opportunity to learn (or relearn) about the latest and greatest innovations in the space.
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This forward thinking early in his career eventually led him to the top-performing pharmacy at Dana-Farber, where Poquette has continued to find new ways to redefine his role.
Poquette says, “Sylvia Bartel, Dana-Farber’s senior vice president of pharmacy and chief pharmacy officer, and the organization had a big vision for specialty pharmacy when they hired me, and I feel blessed and humbled to have been given the privilege of developing this patient-focused program.”
In just over five years, the pharmacy went from dispensing fewer than forty specialty prescriptions daily to more than two hundred. That growth has mandated an expansion of Poquette’s team from fifteen to more than fifty. It also tripled the number of outpatient pharmacies. Today, his organization fills prescriptions for more than five thousand unique patients each month.
“Emporos is proud to partner with Jason Poquette and DFCI. His passion for creating positive and impactful experiences in the outpatient pharmacy is contagious,” says Eric Kristensen, CEO of Emporos. “Serving over five thousand patients every month requires the right mix of people, innovation, and leadership, and we are honored to collaborate with Jason and the entire DFCI team.”
Poquette has also driven critical improvements in patient care. A recent redesign and expansion of Dana-Farber’s phone systems added six new language options and automated connections to interpreters.
“This was an institute level initiative,” Poquette says, “but we took it to the outpatient and specialty pharmacy department because we are committed to helping our non-English-speaking patients.” That has meant 85 percent of patients can connect with a staff member using their preferred language, up from 67 percent. In addition, patient satisfaction with the education they receive about their medication is currently sitting at 97 percent, up from 80 percent.
The story behind those impressive numbers comes down to relationships. Poquette connected with the right stakeholders to bring better communication solutions to Dana-Farber’s patients.
He’s proud to do all he can to contribute to the mission of the number one cancer-fighting organization in the Northeast. “More than half of the new cancer drugs that end up on the market were studied here,” Poquette says. “We’re a legend in the oncology world, and I’ve had the privilege of embracing that mission by building a premier specialty pharmacy organization from the ground up.”
“Working for Walmart was more like working for a country than a company. They are a huge organization. Networking internally was critical for success.”
Jason Poquette
In a nod to the importance of personal, not just professional, relationships, Poquette says his success is directly attributable to the faith and support of his wife, Bonnie. She has been his partner for over thirty years and is the mother of their four children. “I couldn’t do any of this without her. She has supported and encou4raged me in every step of my career,” he says.
After six years at Dana-Farber, Poquette remains committed to advancing oncology care. With his track record, he and his team will doubtless accomplish much in the years to come.
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