I Feel You, A Fortify Wellness Production
Bettina Mahoney the Founder/CEO of @atfortifywellness is a rape survivor who started her brand after struggling to not only find a therapist, but multiple mediums to heal through her trauma. Fortify Wellness is a 360 holistic platform offering therapy, coaching, fitness, and meditation on one subscription platform. We dive deep with our trailblazing guests about overcoming adversity.
I Feel You, A Fortify Wellness Production
Innovating Healthcare and Personal Resilience: Dr. Cynthia Nwaubani Journey
Join us for an enlightening conversation with the trailblazing healthcare executive, Dr. Cynthia Nwaubani , as she shares her journey from battling malaria in Nigeria to founding PharmD Live in the United States. Discover how her personal experiences and professional evolution have fueled her passion for healthcare innovation, chronic disease management, and patient care. Dr. Nwaubani opens up about the influence of personal resilience, faith, and her support network in navigating her multifaceted roles beyond her career, offering valuable insights into finding one's purpose and inner fulfillment.
More on Dr. Cynthia Nwaubani:
Dr. Cynthia Nwaubani is a visionary healthcare executive driving PharmD Live’s growth strategies and organizational goals, with a focus on expanding innovative clinical pharmacy solutions across U.S. healthcare verticals. As an entrepreneurial and analytical leader, she excels in problem-solving, streamlining operations, and optimizing productivity to deliver cost-effective, patient-centered outcomes.
As the founder of PharmD Live, Dr. Nwaubani introduced a groundbreaking virtual clinical pharmacist solution that leverages clinical pharmacist care managers and proprietary AI-driven technology to manage chronic disease and medication therapy. This solution has consistently improved patient outcomes, reduced healthcare utilization and costs, and enhanced value-based care profitability.
A creative and resourceful decision-maker, Dr. Nwaubani is adept at assessing complex clinical scenarios and crafting actionable strategies for optimal results. Her expertise spans value-based care models and digital health solutions, including Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM), Medication Therapy Management (MTM), Chronic Care Management (CCM), and Transitions of Care. She also brings strong leadership skills in quality assurance, business development, strategic planning, P&L management, clinical operations, and product development.
In addition to leading PharmD Live, Dr. Nwaubani serves as a Board Member at PatSom Medical, a Strategic Advisor at The Center for Advancing Innovation, and an Advisory Board Member at Mind the Class.
Her commitment to patient-centered care and technological innovation has positioned her as a leader in health tech, driving successful partnerships and improving quality measures. As a Board Member at PharmD Live, she continues to guide the company’s strategic expansion and market positioning.
Dr. Nwaubani holds a Doctor of Pharmacy degree (with honors) from Temple University, a Graduate Certificate in Clinical Research, and a Graduate Certificate in Leading with Finance from Harvard University. She resides in northern Virginia with her family.
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**This information is not to be misconstrued as medical or psychological advice. Please contact your medical team if you have questions or concerns pertaining to your medical or psychological well-being. All of the linked products are independently selected, and curated by the fab Fortify team. If you love and buy something we link to, we may earn a commission.**
Welcome to I Feel you a Fortify Wellness production season seven, where we explore the real stories and strategies that help you strengthen your mind, body and soul. I'm Bettina Mahoney, your guide on this journey to a healthier, more vibrant you. Before we get started, here's a quick reminder. This information shared today is for your inspiration and knowledge, but always consult a healthcare provider for any medical concerns. Today we're honored to welcome Dr Cynthia Wabani, a visionary healthcare executive and founder of PharmD Live. She's revolutionizing chronic disease management with AI-driven clinical pharmacist solutions, improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs. With expertise in value-based care, digital health and clinical operations, dr Robani is a leader in health tech innovation. She holds a doctor of pharmacy from Temple University and a graduate certificate in leading with finance from Harvard University. Let's dive into her groundbreaking work and insights. Hi Cynthia, thank you for joining me on the podcast today. How are you?
Speaker 2:I'm doing well. Hi, bettina, thank you for having me. It's truly an honor to be here today. First of all, I just wanted to, you know, acknowledge the incredible work that you're doing and the impacts that you're making. So thank you for having me here today and I look forward to discussing my journey and you know, how innovation can drive better patient outcomes, all while keeping that human touch. So looking forward to our chat today, and so thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much. I always love starting this question because I have been talking a lot recently about unveiling the mask and getting grounded and getting into our true, authentic selves. And you have such incredible title, such incredible background. I'm curious when you strip all that away at the core, who are you?
Speaker 2:At the core, who am I? Okay, so, at the core, I'm a problem solver. I like to. I see myself as a problem solver. I am a problem solver and I am an eternal learner. I'm constantly learning. And then also I am a connector. I'm a relentless advocate when it comes to making, when it comes to progress right, and in every space that I find myself, I have always figured out ways to make things better. That's just who I am. I am a wife, I'm a mom of three adorable kids, I'm a daughter, I'm a sister, I'm a friend to many, I'm a mentor, I'm a great listener. I'm someone who is deeply committed to making meaningful impact in people's lives. I love to laugh, I love to build relationships, I love to embrace new experiences and, you know, I believe in the power of knowledge.
Speaker 1:I believe in the power of networks and having those genuine connections with people, so that we're bringing people together. That's so beautiful. I want to dive deeper into that, if you're okay with me diving deeper. Sure, you're a connector, you're a problem solver, and I think the women that we have on this podcast, they are doers and they love to serve others. And I'm curious for you how do you fill your own cup?
Speaker 2:How do you put on the oxygen mask on first for yourself. Well, my oxygen mask, I would say it comes from. It comes from God, comes from up above right. I have a deep relationship with God and you know who has been my guide, has made ways for me even, you know, when the path seemed unclear right and when I get super overwhelmed. His presence in my life has shaped my resilience, my purpose, my pretty much everything, my away from belief in that every challenge is an opportunity for growth and impact. When I'm fully, like exhausted, I try to find that quiet time, that space, quiet space and just close my eyes and meditate, you know, and then also just being around, having a great support system as well. You know, that's what really feels my cup for me, when I am feeling very low or when I just need that recharge.
Speaker 1:That's so beautiful and it's been so interesting, because we bring on so many high-performing women and they talk about all of the amazing things that they've done, all the jobs they've done. Maybe they get into finance or, unhappy, they go to the next job, they might go to consulting, and they're like I'm so unhappy I'm going to start my own business. Or they go into something and they decide you know, maybe this thing will fulfill me. And then they realize, wait, it's not externally, it's not what another person or another company can do to make me happy. It has to come from me. And you seem so sure of yourself. What was the process like for you? And finding your? Why, the reason why you do the work that you do?
Speaker 2:today. That's a very. That would be a very long story to finding my why. That's a very. That would be a very long story to finding my why. So, as a young girl, I grew up in Nigeria and I suffered malaria.
Speaker 2:I'm not sure if you know what malaria is, but it's the flu times 10. It's, I mean, it wasn't just a one-time illness, it was recurrent and relentless because of my blood type, and so most times, malaria would land me in the hospital for many weeks at a time, and sometimes it could be up to two weeks, 45 days. It all depended on what it was. And so I endured endless medications, painful injections and, you know, a disruption of, you know, missing school. But I missed those difficult moments. You know, something sparked my curiosity about medications. How could these tiny pills, you know, have such a profound effect on my body, right? And so that realization, even at a very young age, planted the seed for my journey into the world of pharmacy. And so, when I moved to the United States, I pursued this passion at Temple University School of Pharmacy, where I and then, you know, after that, I later began my career at a community, as a community pharmacist, my career at a community, as a community pharmacist, and it was fulfilling, you know how, that direct, direct hand in ensuring that patients receive the right medications, they were counseled right, and all of that good stuff. But it was also eye opening for me. And then so from, you know, working in the community.
Speaker 2:I transitioned to different settings where pharmacists could work on the inpatient side, on the outpatient, at medication management, long-term care facilities, and as I transitioned from one clinical setting to the other, right, I saw firsthand the widespread medication-related problems that patients faced, and that was when I quickly realized that a lack of a proper medication management was leading to preventable medication-related problems, preventable hospitalization, unnecessary deaths, right.
Speaker 2:And so you know many patient stories that I can tell, but one patient story that I could tell right now is a patient who was always in and out of the ER for asthma attacks and respiratory related problems and so, and she was labeled a frequent flyer, but no one really knew why she wasn't improving, right. And so when I spent time you know my team and I spent time with that patient and we conducted a thorough medication history we found out that she was her daughter, was actually administering her inhaler through the nose and not through her mouth, right, and it was unintentional, and that reduced the patient's medication effectiveness. And so just a simple misunderstanding of how to use a life unintentional medication overdose. This tragic incident was 100% presentable had there been a proper medication management solution for that patient, and so that was the moment that totally changed everything.
Speaker 2:For me, it wasn't just about, you know, dispensing medications anymore, it was about preventing avoidable harm and doing that at scale right. And so, as a board certified geriatric pharmacist, and given the experience that I've had in different settings, that was what really pushed me over the edge to found PharmD Live, where we can address these types of problems medication-related issues at the intersection of technology and the clinical pharmacist expertise.
Speaker 1:That's fascinating to me, I mean so. I am a firm believer in taking medication that your doctor, you know, prescribed you for. I've been on epilepsy medication since I was 14 and I'm a firm believer. It has saved my life. And I've also been on the other side of it After I was raped. I'm very open about this.
Speaker 1:I was raped and changed my life I could barely get out of bed in the morning and a really long healing journey and I found my personal experience with antidepressants didn't work for me and I went on a whole healing journey holistically changed my diet, went to a soul coach, got a therapist. I do all the things that I practice in Fortify Wellness, which is now HIPAA compliant 360 approach to wellness therapy, coaching, fitness and meditation on one subscription platform. 360 Postural Wellness Therapy, coaching, fitness and Meditation on one subscription platform. So I come from a really interesting place where, on the one hand, I felt like the doctors didn't ask enough questions about what I was going through and didn't prescribe me the right thing, the right dosage, and then I live in another world where my epilepsy medication, I believe, saved my life. So I live in these two worlds.
Speaker 1:Epilepsy medication, I believe, saved my life, so I live in these two worlds right and I had a really interesting experience. A month ago I saw a holistic doctor. He spent two hours with me, which I've never had that experience before, where he asked about mind, body, soul, what I went through psychologically in my past, how much I'm working out all those things that I feel should be taken into account in prescribing any types of medication. So I'm curious what the balance is from your perspective in, you know, wellness, holistic wellness, my body's whole diet. So wellness, holistic wellness, my body's whole diet. Fitness, moving your body and prescriptions.
Speaker 2:What is the balance? How do we find it? Yeah, so I like to. When you talk about balance, I like to even start from. One size does not fit all, right. With medications and with wellness, one size doesn't fit all and never will.
Speaker 2:So, looking at things from the medication management standpoint, what we are doing at our organization is ensuring that the patient's medication regimen is tailored to that particular patient, and we leverage, you know, we leverage pharmacogenomics, and that's where medications are tailored based on the patient's genetic makeup.
Speaker 2:Right, and so it's. It's, I believe in personalization when it comes to medications, and then also when you're looking at wellness, it's, it's looking at the patient as a whole, right, and it's not just, you know, go to the gym, go do this and do all of that. It's all about partner is a partnership with the patient, partner with the patient and really coming up with a with. You know, that would work with the patient because, at the end of the day, you want to empower the patients with the right tools, the right resources, the right knowledge and information for them to live their best life and to empower them for self disease, self management and medication, self management on their own, and that comes through a whole lot of motivational, you know, counseling, education, and it's not a one-time thing, it's continuous because, you know, as humans, we're continually evolving in our thoughts and our knowledge right, and new information it's coming out every day, and so it's very important for us to constantly, you know, partner with our patients and have that engagement on an ongoing basis so that we're looking at solutions, you know, and really figuring out what's going to work best for a patient, and then also giving the patient a seat at the table in coming up with the best plan, because the best plan is the plan that the patient would actually execute Right, and so you can prescribe the best medications to the patient.
Speaker 2:But if they really don't have the why they don't understand why they should take it. And sometimes they may understand why they should take it, but then, um, you know, just knowing the benefits of the medications and how to manage those meds and how to incorporate all of that into their whole wellness journey. You know, it's that's the approach that I would like to take is, you know, that, equal partnership with the patients in coming up with a plan, a wellness plan for them.
Speaker 1:I'd love to highlight the genetic makeup. How does and I know that's a big question, but how does our genetic makeup, sort of like, predisponize us to certain maybe it's certain mental health issues, maybe it's physical issues? How does that take an effect in prescribing medications?
Speaker 2:prescribing medications. Yes, so you know, we're all different physiologically, and then also when you look at how we process medications and how our body metabolizes medications, it is different, right. Some of us are fast metabolizers and others are slow metabolizers, and so if I administer a medication to a patient who is a fast metabolizer, right, there may be a need for the dose to be slightly higher because of that. You know genetic makeup of that patient, right. And then for those patients who are slow metabolizers, you know we could maybe, then maybe you need to reduce the dose, right, so that we can get the patients to the right spot, where they need to be, and the right drug levels for these patients. So you know that's.
Speaker 2:You know what's really we consider when we look at, you know, pharmacogenomics how the patients, you know how our bodies are reacting to the medications and what the medications is doing to our bodies two different things, right, and so it has to be a balance of both. And you know, especially when it comes to behavioral health and you know, sometimes we find that medication I can even say some of the antidepressants as well Patients may have been on this medication for, you know, for a while and they're not really achieving any, getting any benefits from those medications, and not that the meds are not really effective, it's just that we really have untitrated the dose to where it needs to be for the patients to have that effective outcome from that medication. So for microgenomics it's very important, it's new, it's, you know, evolving and I'm very excited, you know, about the prospects of pharmacogenomics and how it's going to help with personalized medicine.
Speaker 1:That's beautiful. And when we're talking about personalization, that's assuming that the client really feels comfortable being honest about their genetic makeup, whether that's their mother had breast cancer, father has a fall addiction that could make them genetically predisposed to something else. What do you say to the person that's like going into their doctor and they're kind of intimidated, to be kind of honest, maybe it's about themselves personally, maybe it's like they might drink too much or they might have some insecurities about their mental health. What do you say to that person? Because a huge part of it is, you know, in order for them to get that holistic care, they have to be honest. So to the person that's like I'm a little intimidated. What's your advice to that person going into the doctors?
Speaker 2:Well, your doctor. I would say that your doctor wants the best outcome for you, right? Your doctor is there to be a partner to getting you to your best health possible. Right and right, I wouldn't go to a doctor that I don't trust, right. And so, in selecting our physicians, it's very important to do a due diligence, proper research, to identify a physician who we can trust. Now, when we have that physician who we can trust, we really need to put everything on the table, because the doctor needs to have the full picture, right, in order to make the best informed clinical decision that you know, it's a test that a patient has to go through, whereby a sample is collected and that's been analyzed, you know, sent to a lab and it's analyzed and then, based on what you know, the test reveals, right, we can then tailor the patient's care based on their genetic makeup.
Speaker 2:And so and we're going to see more and more drugs have pharmacogenomics information. I believe about more than 400 medications now have. When you look at the FDA package inserts, they have the genetic information before we even prescribe them. Right, because it's really, really important. There's something there's, you know, the drug gene interactions. It's a real thing. And medication Plavix you know it's when you look at the patient's genetic makeup. Not all patients should be on Plavix. It wouldn't be effective in patients who, let's say are, would not do well on that medication, and so pharmacogenomics has helped us identify those patients who are not good candidates for that particular medication products that is used to prevent a clot from forming.
Speaker 1:Very interesting and I would love to kind of transition a little bit to talk about PharmD, to kind of transition a little bit to talk about PharmD. I'd love to hear more about your journey and how you know your career path led you to this intersection of healthcare and technology.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and in terms of I don't even know where to start with, in terms of my experiences and my journey, it all had to do with because I've been exposed, you know, to the different verticals in healthcare, right, and being in different settings inpatient, outpatient, long-term care, community pharmacies, different settings, right, and seeing things through the lens of a geriatric pharmacist. The one common denominator that I saw everywhere was medication-related problems that no one was really paying attention to, falling through the cracks, causing problems in patients, and that's probably due to the disjointed and fragmented healthcare system that we do have. Right, there's no one person who is overseeing the patient's entire medication profile no one person. Our community pharmacists you know the likes of the chain drugstores, you know we have pharmacists there and well-meaning pharmacists, but then again the work environment really puts a whole constraint on the time that they're spending with their patients. Now, when you go to the physician, you know we're spending about five, 10 minutes with our doctors, right, and that's just because of the way the healthcare system has been designed.
Speaker 2:Physicians mean well, they want the best care for their patients, but then again, you know the time constraints really limits the physician from spending, you know, more time with the patients to really uncover more information, more clinical intelligence right, and so I seen where the gaps were and then also what the technology can do Right. That was what really led to, you know, starting this type of organization and then designing a solution, like we have put in place, so that we're analyzing the patient's data from multiple sources and superimposing that onto what the physician has in their EHR and then looking at all that, looking at the patients through different lenses and intelligence that we can bring to the table and that also enables the physician to make the best informed decision for their patients.
Speaker 1:Interesting, so I'm assuming that is how the AI comes into play in helping the physician get that 360 view of the client correct. Is that kind of what I'm getting?
Speaker 2:Exactly, exactly. So part of our solution is that interactive engagement. So we engage with the patients on a monthly basis, right? And this is all in between their doctor visits. Some of the patients see their physicians, let's say, once a a year. Sometimes the higher risk, high complexity patients may see their physicians three times a year, but a whole lot happens in between those doctor visits, for example. So during our patient engagement. So that's why we have to we engage our patients on a monthly basis.
Speaker 2:So during our patient engagements, we often come across patients who are what they're doing at home with their medications is totally different from what the physician has in the electronic health record, right? So we have patients who are like splitting their pills. We have patients who are who purchase medications out of pockets. Let's say that when they go to Canada or when they go to Mexico or whatever they travel to, right, they buy medications directly from the pharmacy and the physicians have no knowledge of these other additional therapies. And then you have patients who are seeing different prescribers, different specialists, and when you look in the EHR and look at the medication profile, there's just a whole lot of discrepancies between what the physician actually has in the EHR and what the patient actually does at home.
Speaker 2:So part of what we do is during that engagement. We then pull and collate all of the patient's medications from different sources and put it all together, right and so with our technology. Right, it actually enhances. It doesn't replace it, doesn't replace the physician, it doesn't replace the pharmacist, but rather, you know, it enhances what we do, right and so and enhances that human element within healthcare.
Speaker 2:So at PharmDLive, you know, we use our AI-driven technology to analyze risk factors, not just risk factors for medication, but also risk factors from social determinants of health as well. Of course we're looking at medication-related problems and optimizing the patient's care plans, and but that's always paired paired with pharmacist oversight and that personalized patient engagement, right. So, for example, our technology can flag that a patient is at high risk for adverse drug event, but it's a clinical pharmacist who then steps in to have the real conversation, have that engagement with the patient, work with the physicians to adjust the patient's therapy and then also provide that compassionate care to our patients. So our technology accelerates the insights, but that human-to-human connection between our pharmacists and the patients is what drives better outcomes and eventually supports the physicians to treat, deliver the highest quality of care to their patients.
Speaker 1:I think that's great. I mean there is such a gap. I had on the co-founder of HerMD and you know they'd spend between about up to 45 minutes with their patients, with women, and it's a beautiful thing because I think a lot of times in healthcare women are gaslit into thinking like what they're feeling is not accurate and in a lot of ways we have to advocate for ourselves. I've had to advocate for myself. I know a lot of our listeners have had to advocate for themselves in the medical fields and they offer a really interesting gap because they spend a lot of time with you. They look at the client, the patient, holistically. I'm a big component of that. And then it was interesting because recently I went to India and I got food poisoning and I went to the doctor and I got an for the IV and for the medication and I'm thinking these doctors were great, I had a great experience and something like that in the U S it would have cost like over 300 bucks. So you think about like this gap here and you know I think about my mother. My mother is in a wheelchair. My mom has a lot of, you know, physical ailments and she was doing a treatment for her rheumatoid arthritis, and then a doctor suggested a different treatment that ended up being a thousand dollars a month. It would have been a thousand dollars a month and she wasn't sure if insurance would cover it. And so what I noticed, and what I'm noticing by talking to a lot of people in the medical world, is that there's also this gap in does your insurance cover this prescription? Is this accessible?
Speaker 1:You know there's also that gap there, because what I'm learning is that it is attainable to have affordable health care and you know, as you're talking about holistic health care and helping meeting those gaps, it's so important because I understand that clinicians are very burnt out. They can't spend all this time with the patients. On the other hand, patients need better. You know better care more. You know it's in the same way with with. You know with therapists.
Speaker 1:You know with in the digital wellness space, with therapy. You know with therapists. You know within the digital wellness space, with therapy. You know patients are feeling on other platforms that the therapist isn't spending enough time, doesn't care, and maybe it's true, maybe it's not true. Either way, we have to meet that demand somehow and I think it's really interesting what you're doing. You're kind of bridging this gap here and allowing more attention to come to the client Because again, things might change, circumstances might change, whether it's in their diet, whether it's in an environment, you know. That might shift the way that their body is reacting. Their mind, body, soul is reacting to the medication. I'm curious is this is your company, does it take insurance?
Speaker 2:Lots of product lines and and most are covered by insurance, especially Medicare, medicare. Medicare covers what we do because it's preventative and it helps reduce costs and improves the patient's you know outcomes right. Also, some of the commercial plans accept, you know we accept some of the commercial plans. Accept, you know we accept some of the commercial plans because they do cover what we do. There's a whole lot of value in medication management and then we also do have some patients who can pay out of pocket. We have patients who reach out to us say, hey, my mom is on about 20 medications and they really can't manage, you know the medications overwhelming to the caregivers, to the patients themselves, you know. So we see all sorts of patients and they could be paying cash or through their insurance, and I'm curious the AI component.
Speaker 1:Is a client going to use the service that you have talking to a person? Is it through an AI service? How does it work?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so if we have a patient who is part of our program, our pharmacists leverage our technology to provide service to them, so the patients really don't have to do anything. That is tech-driven per se. You know, that is tech driven per se. Most of our patients are elderly and they're technology averse a vast majority of them so our team members leverage our technology to provide care to the patient, so the patients really really don't need to have a B-Tech savvy or any of that. And even when we partner with clinics, our goal is always to provide a turnkey service, a turnkey solution, end-to-end right. Our goal is to reduce the work load, reduce the work burden and decrease burnout for our partners, and so our team we handle, you know, we do the heavy lift and we do like 99.9% of the work, because we know that our partners, our clinic partners they're already busy and you know, with patient care, day-to-day patient care in their offices, and so we assume the entire workload of all things medication management for their patients.
Speaker 1:Very exciting. You definitely fill a gap for a lot of people and I want to go back to you. We hopped around a lot, but you know, clearly you care about people. Clearly you're meeting so many gaps, clearly you have such an incredible background. I'm going to kind of wrap this thing into a bow here, because it's really interesting. There's like such a pattern with everyone that I have on here that I always like to highlight is that we're, we love to serve others, and then it's like we forget to put the oxygen mask on ourselves. And so I want to dig deeper, because I know you had said your mother, your daughter, all the things, and even when we strip those things away, it's incredible what you're achieving, what you're going to achieve in the future and even beyond work. If you were to give your personal mission statement of your why and why you do what you do I'm going to put you on the spot a little bit what would it be?
Speaker 2:Why I do what I do. Why do I?
Speaker 1:do this planet Just being Cynthia, taking even work out of the picture?
Speaker 2:I just want to leave the world better than I found it. You know, I believe that I've. I believe that I was made for a purpose. I believe that I've been. You know, god has given me an assignment to make a difference in the lives of others, and that's what makes me, you know, that's what I wake up every day excited to do is to leave that, um, you know, lasting legacy, um, and having that positive impact in in our world, just improving the lives of others. That's why that's my why, in whatever, wherever I find myself, i'm'm always looking at, trying to identify how can things be better, right, how can I leave this better than I found it? And that's the value, what I say, that I instill in my kids. I try to instill in them to always leave things better than you found them, leave people better than you found them, and just, you know, whenever you encounter anybody, let that person feel better that they just encountered you 100% agree, and I think you've overcome adversity.
Speaker 1:So have I. And the reason I put out this podcast is because there's someone there listening, going like it's not going to get better and like it will get better. And I think, in a lot of ways, when you know we're talking about overcoming adversity or why the things that we do, everything with social media, can feel overwhelming to people because they're like, oh, I can't achieve that or I'm not doing that. And when you take all of that away and all the fancy titles and everything, we're all going through the same experience which is like, how do we love ourselves harder? How do we make the world better than when we left it? We all have virtues that we've overcome and I really do believe that if we can think about and take away everything that we're doing and we just isolate into what's our personal mission statements and accept the emotions that are coming in, tagging the emotions.
Speaker 1:I had that experience yesterday. I was feeling really stressed out and I had all these meetings and I'm like you know what? I'm going to go, hop on my Peloton, like I needed to do that for myself, and I'm noticing that when you reward yourself, that's the real self-care, that's the real self-love and that is what is so cool about these people I have on. Like yourself, you show up for yourself and that's really how you're so strong. It doesn't just come up out of the air Like you didn't go from going through and having malaria to yes, I'm going to go and be a pharmacist, like there were something coming in between right that made you go. You know, I have to fight for myself back. So that's so cool to me and you're a super woman.
Speaker 1:So I wanted to highlight cause I think we, we like, we skip over that. Like we were like, and I do too, like I go. Yeah, I went through this thing and now I have like. No, there were some steps I had at one point in time had to lift myself out of bed and stand up out of the bed, walk to the bathroom and brush my teeth. There were things in between. So I just love the work that you're doing and I just think that you're offering such a service to the world. We need it. And do you have anything exciting coming up with what you're doing with your business, farm FarmD Live, that you'd like to share with the audience?
Speaker 2:In terms of exciting what's coming up.
Speaker 2:There's a whole lot of exciting projects in the pipeline that we're working on, right, but I would say, when I think about the future of PharmDLive, I envision, you know, a future where every doctor's office has a virtual clinical pharmacist supporting them, supporting that team right, and seamlessly integrating medication optimization into chronic disease management.
Speaker 2:That's, you know, what we're working on, and we're doing that one clinic at a time, and so we do have other projects that are coming up that we're working on. And then scaling our technology-enabled you know model, ensuring that medication safety and adherence is not just afterthoughts but the standard in patient care, right, and so, you know, also scaling our technology. It's either because we're working on upgrades at this time, and so having that AI driven clinical insights and, you know, leveraging pharmacogenomics, because pharmacogenomics is still in its infancy, right, and so, you know, merging those two and just exploring all the possibilities out there. You know, that's what's exciting to me, me and just having the pharmacist, you know, as a partner, as a support system for the clinics. It's, you know, that's what we're working on, and just working on being the catalyst for that change and, you know, and being able to bring this mission. Continue on this mission through the projects that we do have coming up and the exciting you know solutions that we're bringing to the market.
Speaker 1:I agree. I mean, it's our duty, I think, for people in healthcare to really step up for clients, for patients, and give them the healthcare that they deserve to live sustainable lives. I believe in that. And to close us, what is your advice in? Like a couple of sentences for an aspiring health care leader, an entrepreneur who wants to make a meaningful impact in health care? It's a big question, but why not?
Speaker 2:Well, in terms of my advice is first of of all, there are going to be challenges. Um, let's say, through it all. You have to be relentless, depending to everything, because there's so many shiny objects and when you do that, you will lose focus and one day you'd wake up and not even recognize yourself or recognize the journey that you're on. So I I, just you have to fearlessly and fiercely stay focused on that vision and impact-driven solutions. You have to surround yourself I can't even say this enough. You have to surround yourself with the right people so that you build a strong team. You know, seek out mentors. It's very. You have to understand where it hurts and who can hold your hand.
Speaker 2:And I would say don't wait for the perfect time. Initially, when I started my journey many years ago, I would wait for everything to be perfect. Perfect timing needs to be perfect. No, no, no. If you see a gap, whatever needs to be done, you have to take action. You have to test it, you have to fail. You have to iterate and keep refining your approach. Right, but above all, I would say stay resilient. This journey is not for the faint of heart. And, yeah, just be resilient and be relentless and focus on your vision and mission.
Speaker 1:I think that's great, I agree. And to add on that I would say mind, body, soul, do the work, you know. Serve yourself. Oxygen mask on first, because there's no award for you know, biggest, most burnt out entrepreneur CEO.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:No, and it will show up, it will show up.
Speaker 2:Yes, health and wellness. Your health and wellness is non-negotiable. When I first started, yes, I got into the mindset of oh, the entrepreneur has to be burnt out. You have to, you know, go two days without sleeping. You have to hustle hard yes, you have to hustle hard and work hard, but you should have your non-negotiables. My non-negotiable is my health, my wellness, my fitness, and so I carve out time every single day, rain or shine, to pour into myself with fitness, wellness, making the right choices. It's a work in progress, but it is a non-negotiable for me because it's been a while and I've grown up on this journey and I've realized that, first of all, health is number one priority and then comes everything else, because if you're not healthy, then you really wouldn't be able to achieve all that you have set out to accomplish yeah, I agree, and like the very baseline.
Speaker 1:It's just like you're worth it, like even without the like. When I realized, like without the fancy company, that I was still worth it, it changed everything for me. I just I performed higher. Like your worth isn't contingent on X, y, z, that partnership, that VC raise, that whatever is worth it, just because you matter, and that's in that grit that you're talking about. That's, that's real self-love. You go and like I'm going to carve out an hour to go work out that self-love. That's a real self-love. So that's beautiful. Let's end on that. That's a powerful note. So this was a treat. Thank you for spending the time to chat with me inspired by you.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for having me. Thank you, thank you. I'm so grateful for this opportunity to share my journey and I look forward to you, know, continuing to make the impacts alongside other change makers such as yourself. So keep up the great work on what you're doing here. I love your work.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to. I Feel you a Fortify Wellness production where we empower mind, body and soul to reach new heights. Your wellbeing is your greatest strength. Nurture it, honor it and watch yourself thrive. If today's episode inspired you, subscribe, share your thoughts in the comments and come back next week for more insights to elevate your journey. Stay empowered, stay true and remember you're not alone. I feel you is a fortified wellness production. All rights reserved 2025.