An in-house expert on Avita Pharmacy’s limited-distribution drugs, Holly trains new pharmacy locations on the safety, storage, and dispensing of high-cost, complex specialty medications, while collaborating with internal teams to meet the specialty program’s rigorous requirements and support patients’ needs.

“One concept that I push is that we can’t judge anyone’s choices because we don’t know their options,” Holly says. “And we need to do everything possible to give patients options, because they might not even be aware of what is available to them.”

Every patient deserves a chance to receive successful treatment, regardless of their disease state or the barriers they may face, Holly says. “We must ask ourselves, ‘How can we give a patient the best shot at a therapy that is not only successful for them, but that works with their lifestyle?’” she explains. She cites the following components as crucial to stacking the deck in a patient’s favor:

• Communication: An open dialogue with providers and patients is key, Holly believes. For example, “We have such a close relationship with our covered entity partners that when a new medicine comes on the market, they feel comfortable asking us, ‘Are people using this therapy? Are you seeing success rates with insurance?’” she says.
  
  
• Transparency: The team must also prioritize transparency with patients and providers regarding the viability of treatment options, Holly says, citing insurance coverage of medication as an example. “If we know in January that, by June, there will be an issue with a patient’s insurance covering a medication, then that might not be the best treatment option for the patient going forward,” she explains.
  
  
• Continuous learning: Holly has worked on pipeline projects for medications still in the FDA approval process and is eager to share her insights on new medications with Avita’s covered entity partners and their patients. “Avita has given me the ability to continuously grow professionally,” she reflects.
  
  
• Compassion: “For me, compassion is a staple in everything,” Holly shares. “There is a South African philosophy called Ubuntu, which means, ‘I am because we are.’ I have always embraced it because I believe there is no success unless we are all succeeding.”
  
  
• Celebrating diversity: As a member of the LGBTQ+ community and neurodivergent, Holly believes we can and should value what everyone brings to the table. For example, when it comes to caring for LGBTQ+ patients, “supporting them really means just allowing people to be themselves,” Holly says. “Some people will say, ‘Oh, using different pronouns is so confusing,’ but then they can rattle off how an engine works or the ingredients to a complex recipe. People learn what they care about. I care about equality, marginalized communities, and people who have disproportionate access to medication. Not only do I embrace diversity — I celebrate it.”