University of Richmond alum helps hospitals optimize pharmacy performance

Hospitals and health systems walk a tightrope as they try to deliver quality patient care, contain costs, and stay afloat. Amy Amick understands this balancing act better than most. A 1994 graduate of the University of Richmond, she serves as the CEO and board director of Visante, a company that helps hospitals optimize delivery of medication to patients while maximizing financial health for the hospitals. Founded in 1999, the rapidly growing, private-equity-backed company serves more than 150 health systems across the United States. 

“Healthcare delivery in the U.S. is a tough space,” Amick said. “Health systems’ margins are razor thin, often hovering around 1-2%, and it is not uncommon for health systems to lose money. One of the largest expenses on their profit-and-loss statements is the cost of pharmacy, which encompasses the capital-intensive process of ensuring medications are procured, stored, administered, and accounted for safely.”

The market has changed substantially in recent years. The complexity of medication administration and management, the rise in drug costs, shifts in where patients seek care, evolutions in pharma development, and the complicated regulatory environment create a complex industry. Within the evolving healthcare sector, pharmacy has shifted from a cost center to what now can be an impactful profit center. Amick and her company help health systems navigate this. 

Amick, who joined Visante a year ago, emphasized what she calls the company’s two non-negotiables: “First, we will protect and preserve our exceptional track record of creating great value for the hospitals and health systems we serve. Second, we will not disrupt the company’s fantastic growth curve.”

To ensure Visante’s success, the CEO thinks beyond the needs of the market and focuses on building exceptional leaders. She seeks to understand employees’ individual motivations and career goals. She also cultivates a diverse leadership team.

“I take a yin-and-yang approach,” she said. “If I’m good at X, my second-in-command should be good at Y. It’s important to have a balance, not only of subject matter competencies, but also of styles and aptitudes. Building balanced, aligned, and aspiration-oriented leadership teams is invaluable.”

Amick has worked in the healthcare technology industry for more than 30 years, including previously serving as CEO at two other firms. But her entrée into the industry was more serendipitous than calculated. As a Richmond undergraduate majoring in leadership studies and political science, she planned to attend law school.

Her plans changed when she conducted a Jepson Student Government Association-sponsored leadership workshop for high school students at the offices of Owens & Minor, a global healthcare solutions company based in Richmond.

“I was on stage presenting when the head of HR stopped to listen,” she said. “Afterwards, she gave me her card and told me to call her when I was ready for a job. When I followed up, she ended up offering me my first professional job as a trainer on a contracts and pricing system the company was deploying. I stepped into the role and absolutely loved it!”

Rather than earning a law degree, Amick earned a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University and continued working in the healthcare sector. Today, in addition to her role as Visante CEO, she serves on the Jepson School Executive Board of Advisors and as an independent member of several private equity firm boards.

“As a CEO, I find it helpful to receive feedback and mentoring from board members,” she said. “So, I want to help other CEOs by serving as an independent voice on their boards. I get joy from making it easier for someone to do the tough stuff.”