A LION OF THE CRISIS

THE CHIEF PHARMACY OFFICER AND AVP OF CLINICAL OPERATIONS AT NEW YORK'S HOSPITAL FOR SPECIAL SURGERY SPEAKS OUT ON THE HOSPITAL'S VITAL WORK TO END THE GLOBAL OPIOID CRISIS

Success in the healthcare industry depends on your place within it. A tidal wave of impacts and expectations flood healthcare organizations every day; perspectives on leadership, operational efficiency, quality, and innovation differ for executives, insurance providers, clinicians, researchers, and patients, whose viewpoints are frequently at odds with each other.

Jawad Saleh, Pharm.D., MCSO, B.S.Phm., BCPS, BCCCP has demonstrated a strong commitment to enhancing healthcare delivery through leadership, operational excellence, and clinical expertise. As Chief Pharmacy Officer and Assistant Vice President of Clinical Operations at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS), the largest academic medical center specializing in musculoskeletal health, he has been instrumental in advancing pain management practices, advocating for multimodal analgesia approaches to reduce opioid reliance.

“The opioid crisis is a big deal. It’s close to my heart,” he told BOSS. At a recent TED talk, he took an unconventional route to get a message across that’s been shouted to the industry a million times but has largely fallen on deaf ears. “I’m frustrated. I’ve published. I’ve lectured. I’m one of the directors for the HSS global humanitarian program. I went to Ghana, and I’m heading back to Africa to talk about the opioid crisis.” With the enormity of that struggle, rapping a desperate plea for change isn’t unorthodox at all.

“At HSS, our pain team has been at the forefront of groundbreaking efforts in opioid reduction and pain management. We are deeply committed to improving patient care and transforming how we approach pain treatment,” Jawad explains. The HSS Pain Screening Service is designed to assess pain and opioid use before surgery, significantly reducing the reliance on opioids after surgery.