PHOP Alumna Erin Ferries Earns Humana's Jim Bloem Achievement Award

With her commitment to excellence and going the extra mile in analyzing clinical and operational performance, UH College of Pharmacy alumna Erin Ferries, Ph.D. ('15), received Humana Inc.’s Jim Bloem Achievement Award for her "dedication to the Humana Values."

The award is named after Jim Bloem, who served as Humana’s senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer from 2001 to 2013. It was introduced in March 2015 to recognize the valuable contributions of Humana associates in the finance department.

As a research scientist on the Health Care Economics team, Erin was nominated for the award by her peers for her efforts in studying the Patient Safety team’s effectiveness to decrease utilization of high-risk medications, and her analysis of Humana’s Medication Therapy Management (MTM) Program, which helps Medicare members better understand and stay adherent to their medications.

Ferries has been with Humana since July 2015 and credits the education she received from the Pharmaceutical Health Outcomes and Policy Ph.D. program for helping her be so successful early on in her career.

"Since I’ve been at Humana, I’ve worked on a lot of pharmacy outcome studies, which is where my UH PHOP background comes in," Ferries said. "The education that I received at the University of Houston was really incredible. It really helped me look at these programs from a different aspect and utilize the data that we have on hand more effectively."

-- by Ameena Rasheed