Alex Varkey
Sr Director,
Strategic Accounts
A nationally recognized leader in health-system pharmacy, Alex Varkey, PharmD, MS, FAPhA, has dedicated over 20 years to transforming hospital pharmacy services and advancing pharmacy practice. Now serving as a Senior Director of Strategic Accounts at Visante, Alex brings extensive expertise in operational excellence, clinical service expansion, and innovative pharmacy technology implementation.
Alex has been a trailblazer in driving large-scale pharmacy advancements throughout his career. As Director of Pharmacy Services at Houston Methodist Hospital–Texas Medical Center, a 950-bed academic teaching hospital, he spearheaded the implementation of cutting-edge technologies, including major electronic health record transitions, automated dispensing cabinet enhancements, RFID-based pharmacy solutions, Raman spectroscopy based controlled substance diversion prevention solutions, state-of-the-art repackaging technologies, and hazardous sterile compounding robotics.
He also led the development of a nationally recognized Controlled Substance Diversion Prevention Program. Under his leadership, Houston Methodist significantly expanded clinical pharmacy programs across multiple specialties and grew its residency programs—most notably the award-winning PGY1/PGY2 Health-System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership residency, which he helped establish and served as its director from 2009-2016.
Alex has played an instrumental role in crisis response and emergency preparedness, leading pharmacy operations through Hurricane Harvey, multiple floods and freezes, and the COVID-19 pandemic. His team coordinated efforts to administer COVID-19 vaccines and monoclonal antibody treatments to over 150,000 individuals, demonstrating his ability to drive large-scale, high-impact health initiatives.
Beyond his institutional leadership, Alex is a distinguished national pharmacy leader. He is the 169th President of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the first-ever Indian-American to hold this role in the organization's 172-year history. Passionate about practitioner well-being, he previously chaired APhA's Well-Being Steering Committee, advocating for initiatives that support pharmacists' resilience and professional fulfillment.
Alex holds a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Houston and a Master of Science in Health-System Pharmacy Administration from The Ohio State University. He completed a two-year health-system pharmacy administration residency at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
His track record of leadership, strategic vision, and ability to execute transformational change positions him as a trusted advisor to health-system leaders seeking to optimize operations, enhance clinical services, and advance patient care.