Dr Lance Emerson appointed CEO of Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
7 May 2014
The Board of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia has announced the appointment of Dr Lance Emerson as PSA’s new Chief Executive Officer.
Dr Emerson comes to PSA from the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) where he has been CEO since 2007.
He has a background in primary healthcare and quality improvement, with a focus on ‘joined-up’ solutions to applying best evidence in addressing health inequities.
He has worked in senior Government positions at both the State and Federal level, as a private consultant, as executive of a national member-based health organisation, and has been appointed to numerous Ministerial committees and working groups. His passion and focus is on progressing collaborative evidence-based action to improve the health and wellbeing of Australians.
Dr Emerson has extensive experience in pharmacy programs and was Director of Professional Services at the Pharmacy Guild before taking up his appointment at ARACY.
Announcing the appointment, PSA National President, Grant Kardachi, said Dr Emerson’s strengths and expertise would help drive PSA forward during a challenging period for the profession.
“As Director of Professional Services at the Guild, Dr Emerson was pivotal in securing funding for and overseeing the implementation of about $550 million worth of Community Pharmacy Agreement programs and projects, including many professional services such as home medicines reviews. He was also involved in instigating, overseeing and implementing many of the current Rural and Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Pharmacy programs,” Mr Kardachi said.
“His experience in this area will be a great asset to PSA program delivery areas and other PSA work and will help build and grow on the great work already undertaken at PSA.
“Dr Emerson is a highly skilled administrator and passionate advocate for the profession. He has a PhD from the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sydney, which involved a trial of pharmacists’ point of care testing for coronary heart disease risk and then working via a collaborative team approach with GPs and allied health personnel to reduce coronary heart disease risk in hypertensive patients.
“He has a Master of Science (Primary Health Care) from Flinders University and a Bachelor of Science from the Australian National University, where he majored in human genetics and physiology.”
Dr Emerson said he was “absolutely delighted and honoured to be appointed to this position and I thank the PSA Board for the opportunity to lead this fantastic organisation into its next stage”.
“The pharmacy profession has so much to offer the community and the health system and the PSA is the organisation best situated to ensuring the skills and knowledge of pharmacists are more fully utilised. The PSA has 18,000 members and is the most representative pharmacy organisation in the country.
“This gives us a unique strength to act on the ideals as aspirations of the profession, and I will be building on PSA’s aim of improving health outcomes for all Australians while building a secure and viable future for pharmacists in all sectors of the profession.”
Dr Emerson will take up his appointment on Wednesday, May 14, 2014.
Media contact: Peter Waterman
Public Affairs Director
0419 260 827
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