Employee Spotlight: Dr. Julie Olson

In a new series of spotlight posts featuring our employees, we sat down with Dr. Julie Olson to hear about her recent promotion to vice president of clinical account management and innovation, her background, insights and focus at Navitus. Read on to learn about her in-depth knowledge of the health care system, her focus on the voice of the customer and her steadfast commitment to improving health outcomes for all.

Q: Tell us about your new position and what you are most excited about in this role? 

A: As Vice President of Clinical Account Management and Innovation, I am most excited about working alongside clients to build solutions to meet their clinical needs. My responsibility to articulate our customers’ expectations and feedback to Navitus’ key leaders places me in a unique position to understand our clients’ needs and the marketplace trends impacting their business. In my new role, I’m also excited about the opportunity to innovate for disruptive collaboration, helping clients improve their members’ health while reducing costs.

Q: What do you mean by “disruptive collaboration”?

A: Disruptive collaboration occurs when organizations come together to collectively address systemic challenges. I am inspired by the work of Carter Dredge, SSM Health’s lead futurist and a member of Navitus’ Board of Directors. In a recent edition New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst, Carter outlined a transformative business model where mission-driven organizations come together to provide essential products and services at the lowest sustainable costs.

Throughout my career, I have made it a priority to advocate for new ways to improve health outcomes. I believe that health care needs more collaboration – not for the traditional goal of protecting market share, but to come up with new ideas that improve the value of health care through sustainable, transparent solutions.  In my new role, I will work with employers, health plans, unions, governments and other plan sponsors to collaboratively disrupt the health care system and provide more people with access to affordable clinical solutions.

" Leveraging my clinical experience, I will work with employers, health plans, unions, governments and other plan sponsors to collaboratively disrupt the health care system and provide more people with access to affordable clinical solutions." - Dr. Julie Olson

Q: What life experiences have most influenced your work?

A: I am a child of small business owners and started working at a young age to ensure the success of our family business. This taught me that every person within an organization matters and every dollar counts. My childhood experience also instilled in me the values of hard work, leadership and grit. If something needs to get done, I just do it. The same dedication I had for my family business, I bring to the Navitus family and our clients. To ensure everyone succeeds, I inspire my team to live the vision of the organization. When challenges arise, I continue moving forward.

Because of my life experiences, I have developed a deep empathy for those who need care and support. This empathy is intertwined with my work as a Doctor Nurse Practitioner (DNP). As a DNP, my focus at Navitus will continue to be on translating scientific clinical value, ensuring we apply the latest available evidence to inform and improve health care for all.

Q: Where do you see Navitus’ biggest opportunities for innovation and/or improving outcomes for clients and patients?

A: Data integration, interoperability and seamless communication with members are the biggest areas of opportunity to improve outcomes. Navitus is making a significant investment in our foundational technology to seamlessly integrate patient information. These investments will ultimately improve the overall coordination and delivery of care across the entire health care ecosystem. For example, from receiving a new prescription to experiencing a benefit change, each of these touchpoints presents a challenge that can potentially disrupt the member’s health outcome, escalating both pharmacy and medical costs for the plan or create an opportunity to make the transition a positive experience. With our Clinical Engagement Center, we’re able to deliver personalized clinical support and member transition programs to assure a seamless transition while mitigating prescription costs.

Q: What makes Navitus different from other organizations you’ve worked at throughout your career?

A: I have worked in a wide variety of health care settings, including public health, in/out-patient settings and emergency room care. What differentiates Navitus is our solid foundation of transparency and superior clinical care. Since I joined Navitus 14 years ago, we have been in a continual state of growth to meet our clients’ needs. Through that evolution, our patient-centered clinical care model and transparent, pass-through approach have remained at the heart of what we do, ensuring that our collaborative efforts help every person we serve live their very best life.

Q: The pharmacy benefits management (PBM) industry is complex; what do you wish people knew about the industry that most don’t?

A: From the very beginning, Navitus has approached pharmacy benefits differently. We lead with integrity and are dedicated to helping people benefit from a seamlessly connected pharmacy experience. Our ethical business model puts people, not profits, first. It’s why I have stayed with Navitus for more than 14 years. In an industry as critical and impactful as health care, working with a pharmacy benefit partner that focuses on helping humans thrive is so important.

Q: What do you see as the most significant challenges facing the pharmacy benefit marketplace and health care in general?

A: The fragmentation of care is a challenge that all entities in the health care ecosystem face. That’s why disruptive collaboration is critical. There’s power in partnering with our clients and consultants who share our mission of connecting the pharmacy network to improve people’s health, lower costs and eliminate complexity. In doing so, we will continue to evolve our innovative approach to pharmacy benefits.