Speaker Bio

Karen McConnell, PharmD, MBA, FCCP, FASHP, BCPS is the System Vice President of the Pharmacy Enterprise and Chief Pharmacy Officer at CommonSpirit Health.  CommonSpirit Health is one of the largest non-profit health systems in the United States, with 142 hospitals and over 1000 clinics in 21 states.   

Karen graduated with her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Missouri – Kansas City and with her Master of Business Administration from Grand Canyon University. She completed a pharmacy practice residency at Cox Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri and a specialty residency at Kaiser Permanente Colorado in Denver. After her residency, Karen stayed with Kaiser Permanente, where she was a clinical pharmacy specialist in cardiology for 15 years. She was then recruited by Cardinal Health, where she was a clinical director for several years. She then transitioned to Catholic Health Initiatives to become the System Director of Clinical Pharmacy Services. After the merger with Dignity Health, to form CommonSpirit Health, she became the System Director of Clinical and Contracting Pharmacy Services. She has been the Chief Pharmacy Officer for CommonSpirit Health since May 2021.    

Dr. McConnell has published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, focusing on high-cost drugs, continuing professional development, and cardiology. Dr. McConnell has also been extensively involved in national pharmacy and other healthcare organizations, routinely presenting at national and international conferences. Dr. McConnell serves on various advisory boards for healthcare companies. She is a fellow of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP) and a fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP).