This third week of November 2020 marks the end of season one of the PQS Quality Corner Show podcast, wrapping up a 52 episode season, and it can be listened to here. PQS started the Quality Corner Show in November 2019 to focus on quality in pharmacy and patient care.
Host Nick Dorich, PharmD, PQS Senior Mgr., Pharmacy Accounts spent the majority of these episodes interviewing healthcare professionals from across the country, and now PQS will “flip the script” and ask Nick a few questions about working on the show this past year.
How did this podcast come about and why should people tune in?
Dorich: This was truly a team effort, and a quick shout out to Jesse McCullough, PharmD (who helped start the Quality Corner Show and co-hosted the first 13 episodes.) I have utilized podcasts and TED talks for a number of years as my primary form of education and learning. Working with pharmacies daily, it was easy to identify a learning gap for your frontline pharmacist and quality measures. Most of us didn’t learn that in school, since quality measures in the realm of pharmacy and medication-use are a new topic that has arrived over the last ten to fifteen years.
Podcasts and other forms of accessible content seemed like an untapped opportunity for PQS and provide needed information in an easy to consume media.
That is really the key reason why people should tune into the Quality Corner Show. Each week we try our best to provide our listener with some key information about improving quality. It is impossible to hit every topic. But if we can present a relevant and informative conversation in a short amount of time, we’ve provided that pharmacist, or healthcare provider, or patient advocate with information they may not have received otherwise!
Was this your first time behind the microphone recording a podcast and how do you feel interviewing guests?
Dorich: Previously I have done videos, webinars and all kinds of other verbal or vocal content. Podcasting was a new item, however! I had looked at it previously to explore sharing some of my nerdy hobbies, like science fiction, but I had never actually done it before! So while I had not done it before, I had researched what makes for a successful podcast already.
Recording the podcast each time is a great experience. Some people may not realize, but the audio you hear for the podcast is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s a lot that goes into identifying the topics, finding the right guests, getting the right questions into the script. When we get to do the actual recording it really accentuates hours of work into just 20 or 30 minutes of conversation. For me, it becomes such a joy for the audience to hear the finished product!
Who’s been your favorite interview?
Dorich: It is very difficult to pick just one! I really enjoyed exploring the “data jungle” with Peter Masters. I love data – not just at work, but in all things that I review. Peter gave us a lot of good tidbits to consider. My other favorites were the interviews with Jessica Louie – about combatting stress and with Vibhuti Arya – addressing social determinants of health. In some ways, those were the most uncomfortable episodes to address, but that is also an indicator for those being areas of growth and opportunity for myself. And quality improvement is all about – improving!
The Quality Corner Show is growing in listenership with the three most popular episodes being Improving Quality in Community Pharmacy Episode 38, Coronavirus in Detail and Pharmacy Retail Episode 22, and Social Determinants of Health Episode 27. Why do you think these episodes are so popular?
Dorich: There’s not one clear reason why, but a couple of factors play a role. Having a topic that listeners are interested in is perhaps the biggest draw. But, you also need high-quality guests that can speak intelligently to a topic, but not make it overwhelming to the audience! That is easier said than done. Finally, I think we’ve learned a lot about marketing and promotion. We have made some changes to the process on how we share our podcasts and we engage our guests more with how to share to appropriate audiences that we may not typically reach.
What can we look forward to in season 2?
Dorich: There was some success in grouping a “series” of podcast episodes which allow us to go deeper into some topics. That creates a great process and allows us to share more about the key topics. We’re still going to keep them relevant and focused on quality, but this format allows us to expand our content in a natural way and to help expand our library of fantastic guests on the show! I am also looking forward to some returning guests from Season 1. I won’t provide any spoilers today, but I would love to have some guests from our most popular episodes back so that we can further explore the particular topics with them. In addition, while we have focused on medication use, I would also like to explore other areas of quality in healthcare. I think if we expand on topics outside of pharmacy it may also help our audience broaden their mindset about quality! Pharmacists have a lot to offer to improve patient care. Helping them connect to new opportunities is the ultimate goal!
As the Senior Mgr., Pharmacy Accounts for Pharmacy Quality Solutions, Nicholas Dorich, PharmD and his team works directly with pharmacy organizations representing more than 60,000 pharmacies in the United States. Nicholas’ passion in the pharmacy profession includes expanding clinical services for pharmacists and recognition for pharmacists as an integrated member of the patient care team.
The PQS Quality Corner Show is available through all major podcast platforms including Apple, Google and Spotify podcasts. It can be directly accessed at https://pharmacyquality.buzzsprout.com/
