Chris Falato, PharmD
Title
Director of Pharmacy, Operations and Pediatric Services
Residency Associated Title and Involvement
HSPAL PGY2 Program Coordinator
Administration Preceptor – Pharmacy Operations, Pediatric Services and Medication Safety
Education
School of Pharmacy: Duquesne University
PGY1: Texas Children's Hospital
Rotation Title
Administration – Pharmacy Operations, Pediatric Services and Medication Safety
Rotation Overview
This four-week administrative learning experience provides an immersive look into running large-scale pharmacy operations and specialized clinical service lines within a premier academic medical center. Led directly by the Director, this highly flexible rotation challenges learners to apply high-level critical thinking to complex, matrixed healthcare environments.
Learners will gain hands-on exposure across a vast network of operational and clinical care lines, including:
- Central & Pediatric Inpatient Operations: Managing a 24/7 continuous inpatient operation featuring automated systems and sterile product preparation
- Outpatient & Infusion Services: Overseeing advanced point-of-care clinical management and specialized pediatric infusion pharmacies
- Youth Behavioral Hospital (YBH): Navigating the unique administrative, clinical, and off-hours operational needs of an inpatient behavioral facility
Core Areas of Focus
The rotation focuses heavily on independent project management and active participation in system-level executive committees []. Learners can tailor their experience around key administrative pillars:.
- System Leadership: Engaging in high-level committees, enterprise drug shortage mitigation, and Epic informatics strategy
- Operational Excellence: Applying lean methodology, analyzing 24/7 staffing logistics, and optimizing inventory control
- Finance & Budgeting: Evaluating monthly productivity reports, investigating budget variances, and drafting formal FTE or capital justifications
- Human Resources: Developing core skills in talent recruitment, performance evaluation, and team building across a large, multi-tiered workforce
- Medication Safety: Integrating proactive safety principles, analyzing institutional safety events, and designing quality improvement (QI) initiatives
