Bonnie Hui-Callahan, Pharm.D. | 2025 MHE Emerging Leaders in Healthcare

I was born in Toronto and moved to Southern California in my freshman year of high school. My parents, who were immigrants to this country from China, were an early influence. My dad was a dentist, and my mother was a nurse, and they devoted their professional careers to helping and healing others. I went to the University of Southern California for preundergrad and pharmacy school, where I obtained my Bachelor of Arts degree in biology with a minor in nutrition in 2006 and my Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2010. I completed an accredited PGY1 pharmacy practice residency in 2011-2012 with Kroger and the University of Cincinnati. Some highlights of my career include developing a pay-for-performance program for patients with diabetes as a pharmacy resident, developing Chapman University School of Pharmacy’s clinical rotation program from the ground up, and driving a threefold expansion of Capital Rx’s clinical program portfolio.

Turning point in your career

Upon graduating from pharmacy school in 2010, I did not match for the residency programs I applied for. As a new graduate, I learned early on that your career path may not be what you envision or plan for, but it is up to you to get up and keep moving forward. Success comes to those who keep failing forward. I ended up reapplying the following year and matched with my top-choice program, which propelled me into the career journey I’ve had up until today.

Biggest day-to-day challenges

Developing and managing clinical programs to support our clients requires consistent, precise and timely coordination among multiple stakeholders and end-to-end support from teams including legal, clinical, finance, analytics and product/development. Ensuring collaboration across all stakeholders on a day-to-day basis is truly an art that ensures that programs bring clinical value to clients while contributing positively to the organization’s bottom line.

Top priority

Our top priority at Capital Rx this year is focused investment in scaling our technology, called Judi, and our teams to meet the needs of our clients and bring our industry-leading pharmacy benefit administration solutions to more employers, health plans and other stakeholders. We are also supporting the launch of the first unified claims processing experience in the U.S. for our own population, which is a leap toward achieving our vision of a world with a unified claim adjudication infrastructure supporting the next generation of healthcare.

Change one thing about U.S. healthcare

If I could change one thing about U.S. healthcare, it would be to grant pharmacists provider status on a national level. This would enable us to bill and be reimbursed for our services across all states. Services such as consulting patients, administering vaccines, managing chronic conditions and adjusting medication regimens help members prevent and manage diseases, offload these responsibilities from other healthcare providers — who are already overburdened — and, ultimately, help lower total healthcare costs. I believe giving pharmacists provider status would contribute to streamlining a fragmented healthcare system and make healthcare more accessible and convenient for the patients we serve.

Book or article that everyone working in healthcare should read

“Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek. I believe that those who work in healthcare have a responsibility to lead in some capacity to help change our healthcare system for the better. The delivery of healthcare requires a team effort, and for a team to work effectively, the leader must be able to influence their team toward achieving a common, tangible goal. In his book, Sinek talks about how to be an effective and impactful leader and how to create a culture of success through empathy, integrity and a feeling of safety. Being a leader means putting others ahead of yourself in order to fulfill a vision.

Personal goal this year

Health and fitness have always been a big part of my life. In January, I joined a local gym and have attended the 6 a.m. workout class with some of my neighbors every day before work. It has given me physical and emotional energy to tackle the day. My goal is to continue this rhythm this year and beyond.