Getting Innovative With Pharmacy Software
April 22, 2024
Sheldon Baines is using his passion for technology to improve specialty care
From video game developer at Nintendo to specialty pharmacy expert at BioScript… well, why not? Both fields require creativity and a keen interest in innovation, which Sheldon Baines has in spades. “I loved programming, but longed to do something that had a more direct impact on patients’ lives,” he says of his career change. A pharmacy degree soon followed.
A native Newfoundlander, Sheldon was living in Alberta when the opportunity to come back home and open the second BioScript Pharmacy in 2010 presented itself. He jumped on the chance to “manage the Newfoundland Pharmacy and help simplify access to specialty care in order to give patients the best opportunity to benefit from life-changing specialty medications.” After a brief stint of commuting back and forth, likely making him the “only Newfie living in Alberta and commuting to Newfoundland to work,” he has now settled back in Newfoundland.
Sheldon’s role later evolved into Product Owner—namely, liaison between the technical and business domains at BioScript – which enabled him to combine clinical care with software development. Indeed, he and his team members designed and developed BioScript’s new in-house Pharmacy Patient Management software. “The platform brings together infrastructure, logistical, and clinical optimizations to prioritize patient care moments,” he says. With the system up and running, he is turning his focus to rollout and country-wide adoption, while “keeping an eye on evolving technologies that we can use to improve the patient experience even more.”
Though his heart is rooted in clinical care, Sheldon sees himself “continuing to leverage technology to enhance the quality of that care” and is pursuing an executive MBA with a specialty in Artificial Intelligence to round out his business and technological skills. The secret to his success so far? “A willingness to break through boundaries, and finding an environment like BioScript’s that allows me to explore possibilities and tackle new challenges.”