Who are the most influential people in retail health?

I love lists. It’s very likely that you do as well.

Whether they rank the best school districts, most unhealthy cities, the top 100 movies ever made or the most crime-ridden state in America, lists give readers a snapshot of things that are sometimes based on data (objective) and other times based on opinion or feeling (subjective).

For our cover story this month, we assembled our own list (in no particular order)—the 50 most influential people in retail health. It consists of the individuals who have helped propel retail pharmacy into the national healthcare conversation over the last 20 years and who are leading it into the future.

We are aware that lists can be tricky. They sometimes seem exclusionary, elitist even. That is not our intention here. We stopped at 50, so obviously we don’t have enough space for everyone who is influential in retail health. But there are many more important people we could have added.

Still, we tried our best. We received input from industry observers, consultants and other retail executives. Then we looked at the influence the potential honoree’s position (and organization) has on retail pharmacy and health care. For example, the chief pharmacy officer for a national or regional pharmacy chain is influential because the position affects so many consumers, but an organization that speaks for an entire industry also wields considerable influence and should be recognized.

Technically, our list has 51 people. We made a special pick for one honoree whose organization has an influence on the future of education and staffing, which everyone agrees is in crisis mode. So keep an open mind, give our list a read and let us know what you think.