C-Suite: Top Ten Forces Shaping Pharmacy in 2026
Strategic Insights for the C-Suite Navigating Growth, Margin, & Enterprise Transformation
Our 2026 Top Ten is here! This year, we’re offering health system executives a forward-looking lens on how pharmacy is evolving into one of the most powerful, underleveraged revenue diversification and growth engines in health system performance.
This year’s themes are clear: pharmacy is no longer just a clinical service or cost center. It is central to enterprise growth, revenue strategy, provider engagement, risk management, and long-term sustainability. For executives navigating tighter margins, shifting care models, and mounting pressure to do more with less, pharmacy offers high-yield opportunities that extend well beyond the inpatient walls.
Calling All C-Suite Leaders: Dive into the Top Ten Forces Shaping Health System Pharmacy in 2026
1. From Cost Center to Growth Engine: Pharmacy’s Strategic Seat at the Table
Health systems are elevating pharmacy into strategic planning alongside finance, ambulatory, and payer strategy. Leaders who bring pharmacy into enterprise decision-making are unlocking system-level growth and strengthening margin performance.
2. Pharmacy at a Crossroads: It’s Time for Entrepreneurial Growth
Traditional funding models can’t meet modern demands. Today’s pharmacy strategy is entrepreneurial; it’s focused on scalable revenue opportunities like infusion, specialty, and PBM programs. Forward-looking CFOs are approaching pharmacy investments with ROI frameworks, positioning them as business units, not just cost centers.
3. Pharmacy Talent Strategy: The Missing Link in Health System Growth
Pharmacy growth is being bottlenecked by leadership gaps and talent drain. The cost of underinvestment here is operational and financial. Health systems are realizing that failing to invest in a robust pharmacy leadership structure development puts millions in revenue, 340B and supply chain savings, and ambulatory expansion at risk.
4. Not If, But How: Pharmacy’s Smart Approach to AI
AI is entering a critical phase of adoption, but systems must separate hype from impact. Pharmacy is proving to be a controlled environment for AI pilot programs, streamlining documentation, improving medication access workflows, and reducing administrative drag. CFOs are looking at AI through a capital lens: targeted investments and measurable return.
5. Pharmacy’s Role in Enterprise Ambulatory Success
Ambulatory care is where future revenue lives, and pharmacy is foundational to that strategy. Integrated pharmacy programs are helping systems improve patient access to care, capture downstream margin, and increase patient retention. For health system leaders, investing in ambulatory-aligned pharmacy capabilities is no longer optional; it’s a revenue necessity.
6. Pharmacy Metrics to Integrate into the Executive Scorecard
Pharmacy’s influence is broad, but often invisible in enterprise dashboards. Embedding pharmacy-specific KPIs into the executive scorecard enables better alignment, accountability, and performance tracking. It also helps system leaders tie pharmacy to systemwide outcomes, improving oversight and reinforcing value.
7. Pharmacy Supply Chain vs Traditional Supply Chain
Unlike general supplies, medications involve compliance, billing, and direct impact on reimbursement. Traditional supply chain models often miss the nuance and regulatory complexity of pharmacy. Pharmacy-led medication supply chain governance is giving CFOs and COOs better cost control, charge accuracy, and audit protection.
8. Pharmacy Revenue Cycle Management: Priorities for 2026
Charge capture errors, missed biosimilar conversions, and preventable denials are costing health systems millions. CFOs are establishing pharmacy revenue integrity teams to plug leaks and recover margin. With new CMS transparency rules on the horizon, 2026 is a critical year for financial optimization in this area.
9. What Pharmacy Leaders Really Want to Say About Pharmacy Challenges in 2026
Pharmacy leaders are navigating high expectations with limited infrastructure. From burnout and policy uncertainty to lack of visibility in key meetings, their challenges carry financial consequences. Health system executives who prioritize engagement and cross-functional collaboration with pharmacy leaders are creating more resilient, high-performing systems.
10. Beyond the Pharmacy Plateau: Unlocking Untapped Value
Many systems have realized quick pharmacy wins but are now hitting plateaus due to capacity limits or underinvestment. Rather than scaling back, the most entrepreneurial C-suite executives are reassessing and reinvesting to unlock the next wave of value. Pharmacy has significant untapped potential ready to be unlocked.
“As we look toward 2026, the most successful health systems will be those that stop viewing pharmacy in silos. Pharmacy touches growth, margin, access, risk, and patient experience—and when those connections are intentional, the enterprise moves faster and performs better. The opportunity ahead isn’t theoretical; it’s already there for organizations willing to lead differently.” – Jim Jacobsohn, Visante Chief Growth Officer
From Margin Pressure to Margin Opportunity: The Pharmacy Advantage in 2026
This year’s Top Ten shows a clear theme: pharmacy is the connector between strategy and execution, operations and innovation, patient care and financial health. The systems that will thrive in 2026 are those that recognize pharmacy as a cornerstone of enterprise transformation.
Are you ready to take on 2026’s biggest challenges and opportunities? Contact us today to explore how we can support your goals and empower you to lead the way in 2026.