CONTACT: Frank Fortin

202.223.7189; ffortin@aphanet.org

The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) announced today that it has named Antonio Ciaccia, Chief Strategy Officer of 3 Axis Advisors, as APhA’s Senior Advisor for Disruptive Innovation and Practice Transformation. This addition will supercharge the association’s efforts to disrupt our broken payment models and drive the profession of pharmacy forward. Antonio begins his duties immediately.

3 Axis Advisors (3AA) is a consultancy that partners with private and government sector organizations to solve complex, systemic problems, and propel industry reform through data-driven advocacy. Ciaccia and 3AA President Eric Pachman were instrumental in exposing the drug pricing distortions and supply chain inefficiencies embedded in Ohio’s Medicaid managed care program, which led to the discovery of $244 million in hidden PBM spread pricing in just one year. This set off a tidal wave of national scrutiny and reform, and their more recent data analyses have exposed new ways in which middlemen abuse a lack of transparency, poor incentives, conflicts of interest, and unchecked power to undermine patient care and siphon value out of the healthcare system.

“APhA is thrilled to work with Antonio and the team of experts at 3 Axis Advisors in an effort to fuel our work to restore order to the pharmacy profession,” said APhA Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Scott J. Knoer, MS, PharmD, FASHP.

“We are honored to work with the great team at APhA, who have demonstrated a clear desire to fix a flawed prescription drug supply chain and improve the standard of care in pharmacy,” said Pachman.

In addition to his consulting work with plan sponsors, provider groups, foundations, pharmacy benefit organizations, law firms, and researchers, Ciaccia is also a co-founder of 46brooklyn Research, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the transparency and accessibility of drug pricing data for the American public.

Ciaccia previously served as the government affairs director at the Ohio Pharmacists Association, where in addition to his work exposing PBM waste, he also advanced pharmacist provider status to a point where four out of five of the state’s Medicaid managed care plans redesigned incentives to elevate the role of the pharmacist as a clinical service provider.

“The top priorities of APhA and our members are provider status and PBM reform,” said Knoer. “Antonio not only brings his success in these areas to the table, but his vast experience with and understanding of the issues impacting our front-line community pharmacists. I can’t think of anyone better suited to help us implement our Board’s strategy, blow up the failed payment system, get our pharmacists paid to do what they went to school for, improve the health of society, and reduce overall healthcare spending than Antonio Ciaccia and his colleagues at 3 Axis Advisors.”

“APhA’s leadership is committed to leading the transformative change necessary not only for our profession, but for all of health care, said APhA President Michael D. Hogue, PharmD, FAPhA, FNAP. “Pharmacists are looking for an association that has their backs, and this partnership with 3AA tangibly demonstrates that pharmacists can count on APhA to fight for them for the patients they serve.” 

“Pharmacy’s much-needed moment of disruption is here, and we are eager to drive home the change and be a part of building a better system. I look forward working with the talented team at APhA to make this vision a reality,” Ciaccia said.