MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — Upsher-Smith and the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA) announced that the Texas recipient of NASPA’s Excellence in Innovation award: Saba Syed, Senior Director of Clinical Quality Pharmacy at VillageMD. It was presented by the Texas Pharmacy Association to recognize her outstanding contributions to the profession of pharmacy. The annual award is overseen by NASPA, sponsored by Upsher-Smith, and presented by participating state pharmacy associations.

Saba Syed

Syed has been honored for her ground-breaking efforts to improve patient outcomes across more than twenty markets, most notably through her work to reduce hospital readmissions and to improve medication adherence. Syed developed a program that, within nine months, lowered post-discharge readmissions by 20 to 30 percent creating more than $1 million in cost avoidance savings. Syed also worked to improve medication adherence through enhanced technician outreach and data-driven protocols. One of her programs improved medication adherence outcomes by 6% for key Medicare Advantage contracts.

In addition to her Senior Director role at VillageMD, Saba serves as Residency Program Director for one of only eight pharmacy residency programs in Population Health Management and Data Analytics in the country.

Syed’s passion for the profession of pharmacy can be traced back to her childhood, when she “marveled that anyone could walk up to a pharmacist and ask a question or get advice.” This accessibility drew her to the profession, as did her love for “biology, chemistry, and conversation.” After accepting a position at VillageMD as a clinical pharmacist, Saba built an entire department from scratch, including people, processes, and technology. “Launching net new programs from scratch requires being comfortable with being uncomfortable and making every single decision on process, product design, and staffing,” Syed explained. Today, feedback from these new programs continues to inform her work and the work of her team. As she explained, “We continuously improve upon our initial offerings to keep building value and efficiencies.”

“Upsher-Smith is delighted to honor Saba Syed and other pharmacists like her,” said Rich Fisher, President and COO, Upsher-Smith. “Her commitment to patients, to quality care, and to professionalism serve as an inspiration to pharmacists across the country who seek to improve existing programs and services.”

“We congratulate Saba for her many successes as Senior Director of Clinical Quality Pharmacy at VillageMD,” said Elise Barry, 2023 NASPA President. “We are proud of all she has done to enhance patient outcomes and we are very grateful to our partners, Upsher-Smith and the Texas Pharmacy Association, for their recognition of her outstanding work.”

About the Excellence in Innovation Award

The Excellence in Innovation Award recognizes qualified pharmacists who have demonstrated significant innovation in their practice, method, or service directly or indirectly resulting in improved patient care and/or advancement of the profession of pharmacy. The award is presented by participating state pharmacy associations.