Women in HIT

The conference is an opportune time to garner success stories and advice from brilliant women in the health care tech space, and while we may be biased, we have some of the most brilliant ones right here at CoverMyMeds.

This year, we’re featuring Senior Account Manager, Lyndsey Maynor, who was recently awarded MVP at NCPDP for her outstanding work (more on that below), and Director, Clinical and Regulatory Affairs, Julie Hessick, who recently moved to our government affairs team and has been a key ingredient in the making of our electronic prior authorization (ePA) solution so successful.

CoverMyMeds: Lyndsey, let’s start with you! Some exciting news recently - you were awarded MVP at NCPDP work groups in Orange County in January for the incredible, core-value based work you’ve been doing. Can you tell us a bit about that?

Lyndsey Maynor: Absolutely! It was a surreal and humbling experience to be recognized for my part in a task group I am co-leading focused on enhancing pharmacy standards to ensure individuals who are transitioning genders have access to the medications they need. Health equity is something I feel very strongly about, and being part of a group spearheading this effort to ensure transgender patients get the care they deserve is very exciting.

CoverMyMeds: That’s an immense accomplishment, and we look forward to updates as the task group progresses!

Julie, you’ve been with the company since the early days! Can you tell us a bit about your incredible career path? Where were you before CoverMyMeds?

Julie Hessick: I am actually a registered pharmacist! I started off working in PBM, specialty and home fusion services. I have truly enjoyed every aspect of patient care that I have been involved in, from designing clinical guidelines and medical therapy management (MTM) programs for critical disease states, to working in retail pharmacy when I first started my career and counseling patients.

CoverMyMeds happened when I was actually reviewing prior authorization (PA) from a health plan. I realized providers were using a service called CoverMyMeds to submit PA requests. After researching the company, I quickly learned the positive impact they were making on patient care. I knew I needed to be a part of it. I can’t believe the amazing things we’ve done, and the growth that has happened in that short amount of time.

“Health equity is something I feel very strongly about, and being part of a group spearheading this effort to ensure transgender patients get the care they need is very exciting.”

CoverMyMeds: Can you both talk a bit about your positions here?

JH: I started out partnering and implementing the ePA transaction with our payer clients. Recently, I moved into the Director, Clinical and Regulatory Affairs position. We work closely with industry groups and state and federal legislative leaders. I feel my ePA and clinical experience helps us evaluate and analyze the impact of legislative issues on the health care industry. It has been very rewarding representing and advocating on behalf of our patients to improve our health care system.

LM: My primary role is focused on managing implementations of ePA technology and providing support to our provider clients. No two days are alike in my position. In any given week, I may be leading an implementation of our ePA solution in Epic with an IT team from a health system, training nurses and medical assistants on how to use the solution, participating in consensus building industry groups, and mentoring some younger women at CoverMyMeds!

CoverMyMeds: What are some challenges you face being a woman working in tech? What advice would you give young women considering a career in health care IT or technology?

JH: Historically, a lot of business meetings are predominately men in executive positions —but I have confidence in my abilities and those of CoverMyMeds. I made sure that any initiative that I was moving forward on was supported by a solid business plan. I was prepared for the tough questions that I knew would come. I believe that women have a great focus on people and relationships. These traits are valuable and help us become great leaders. CoverMyMeds has always treated me like an individual and given all of us amazing opportunities and the tools to succeed no matter the gender.

My advice would be to believe in yourself. You will not be perfect and that is okay. Also, I like that quote, “Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath.”

LM: Generally speaking, I’ve had great experiences working in tech as a woman and have even worked with predominantly women teams in some instances; however, there are definitely other situations where my knowledge and expertise was second guessed. These have been opportunities for me to confirm my knowledge and grow my confidence. Being able to speak firmly and with confidence has greatly reduced having my expertise questioned.

For advice, I’ll start with saying to anyone, but especially young women, if you are considering any STEM related career, go for it! Truly, the sky is the limit in these fields, and new career paths are being forged every day. For the day to day, a mentor once advised me to keep track of small wins to remind myself that I belong and have a lot to contribute. It was some of the best advice I’ve gotten, and is a principle I now use whenever I take on a new project or role to feel successful and valuable.

“My advice would be to believe in yourself. You will not be perfect and that is okay. Also, I like that quote, ‘Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath.’”

CoverMyMeds: Any general thoughts about the upcoming HIMSS conference in Vegas?

JH: I am very excited to see the supporting data and impact technology has made on patient care. Since there is so much focus on improving patient care and decreasing costs, everyone is focused on health care IT and how all the vendors are stepping up to the challenge. I can’t wait to share information and gain insights and ideas to bring back.

LM: It is truly one of the highlights of my year! The energy and ideas that are found around every corner at HIMSS are truly inspiring. The weeks leading up to and after can be very busy, but I find each year that I get back to my everyday responsibilities with a renewed sense of purpose and a deeper passion for the great work that health care IT does to positively impact patient’s lives across the globe.