--- title: "The intelligent centralization playbook unpacked: How Cone Health, St. Luke's & Akron Children's use AI for Pharmacy Growth" image: https://go.beckershospitalreview.com/hubfs/site/beckers-healthcare-webinar-cta.png --- [Skip to main content](https://go.beckershospitalreview.com/pharmacy/the-centralization-playbook-how-health-systems-are-scaling-pharmacy-access-without-adding-headcount#main) - [BHR](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/) - [Clinical](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/) - [Health IT](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/) - [CFO](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/) - [ASC](https://www.beckersasc.com/) - [Spine](https://www.beckersspine.com/) - [Dental](https://www.beckersdental.com/) - [Payer](https://www.beckerspayer.com/) - [Behavioral](https://www.beckersbehavioralhealth.com/) - [Physician](https://www.beckersphysicianleadership.com/) More - About - [About Becker’s](https://hubs.beckershealthcare.com/about) - 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[Dental](https://www.beckersdental.com/) - [Payer](https://www.beckerspayer.com/) - [Behavioral](https://www.beckersbehavioralhealth.com/) - [Physician](https://www.beckersphysicianleadership.com/) - About - [About Becker’s](https://hubs.beckershealthcare.com/about) - [Careers](https://hubs.beckershealthcare.com/careers) - For Sponsors - [Contact Us](https://www.beckersphysicianleadership.com/contact-us/) - [Media Kit](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/request-media-kit/) - [Content Specs](https://hubs.beckershealthcare.com/content-specifications) ## The intelligent centralization playbook unpacked: How Cone Health, St. Luke's & Akron Children's use AI for Pharmacy Growth --- ### Wednesday, August 12th, 2026 | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CT  Pharmacy leaders are being asked to absorb more clinic volume, shorten time to therapy and prove enterprise value — all without new headcount. A few systems are finding a way. In this live session, pharmacy leaders from Cone Health, St. Luke's Health System, Akron Children's Hospital walk through the centralized medication access models they built to reduce friction, take on more volume and reposition pharmacy as a growth lever rather than a cost center. As a result, Cone Health centralized 15-pluis clinics in a single quarter and expanded centralized coverage from 65 to more than 80 high-volume clinics while operating with four fewer FTEs. Speakers will share the operating model, workflow standards and change management that made that pace possible. **Learnings include:**   - How Cone Health centralized 15-plus clinics in one quarter, and the governance and roles behind it - The steps to scale centralized coverage across clinics with fewer FTEs - Where standardized prior authorization removes bottlenecks and shortens time to therapy - How leaders reframe pharmacy from cost center to enterprise growth lever ## **Presenters: ** ![Kyle F - Jake Rodriguez](https://go.beckershospitalreview.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Kyle%20F%20-%20Jake%20Rodriguez.jpg?width=120&height=120&name=Kyle%20F%20-%20Jake%20Rodriguez.jpg) ### Kyle Finnerty, PharmD, MBA, MS ##### Director of Pharmacy Services Akron Children's Hospital ![Kristen - Jake Rodriguez](https://go.beckershospitalreview.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Kristen%20-%20Jake%20Rodriguez.jpg?width=120&height=120&name=Kristen%20-%20Jake%20Rodriguez.jpg) ### Kristen Kruszewski, PharmD, MBA ##### VP and Chief Pharmacy Officer, Cone Health ![Josh Weber](https://go.beckershospitalreview.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Josh%20Weber.png?width=120&height=120&name=Josh%20Weber.png) ### Josh Weber, PharmD, MBA-HCM, CSP, ACE ##### Senior Director, Ambulatory, Retail & Specialty Pharmacy Services St. Luke's Health System [![](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/wp-content/themes/beckers-healthcare/assets/images/logo.png) Becker's Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com) ### Contact Us [1-800-417-2035](tel:180041720354) [becker@beckershealthcare.com](mailto:becker@beckershealthcare.com) - [RSS Feed](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/rss-feeds/) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/asc-communications/) - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/@BeckersHospitalReview/) - [X](https://x.com/beckershr) - [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/user/hospitalreview1) ### Other Becker’s Sites - [ASC](https://www.beckersasc.com/) - [Spine](https://www.beckersspine.com/) - [Dental](https://www.beckersdental.com/) - [Payer](https://www.beckerspayer.com/) - [Behavioral](https://www.beckersbehavioralhealth.com/) - [Physician](https://www.beckersphysicianleadership.com/) ### More Resources - [Events](https://conferences.beckershospitalreview.com/upcoming-events/) - [Whitepapers](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/whitepapers/) - [Live Webinars](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/webinar-types/upcoming-webinars/) - [OnDemand Webinars](https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/webinar-types/ondemand-webinars/) Copyright © 2026 Becker’s Healthcare. 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