Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Dr. Rita Shane, Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer at Cedars-Sinai
Jul 7, 2025
Dr. Rita Shane, Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer at Cedars-Sinai and Associate Dean at UCSF School of Pharmacy, passionately discusses medication safety and the challenges of polypharmacy. She highlights crucial trends in healthcare, including economic hurdles and innovative therapies for chronic conditions. Collaboration is a key theme, especially during patient care transitions. Rita also shares impactful lessons from the pandemic, emphasizing how teamwork and communication are vital in enhancing patient outcomes and tackling medication errors.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Early Career Passion
- At 16, Dr. Rita Shane decided to pursue pharmacy due to her passion and purpose in healthcare.
- She started at Cedars-Sinai as a pharmacy intern and overcame challenges, continuing her career there for many years.
Key Influencers in Pharmacy
- Economic challenges continually influence healthcare delivery and pharmacy programs.
- Advanced therapeutics like gene therapies and biologics are complex and require multidisciplinary collaboration for safe implementation.
Navigating Advanced Therapies
- Oncology leads advanced therapies, which expand to immune system and neurology treatments.
- Access, cost, and safety of these innovations demand robust, multidisciplinary oversight and ethical decision-making.