Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Rhys Axon, MS PharmSci in Health Outcomes and Pharmacoeconomics (MHOPE)

“Pharmacy is in my blood,” said Dr. Rhys Axon. 

A lifelong passion for the field has led him to devote several years to professional practice, research, and teaching. His work at the University of Cincinnati, in many ways, reflects all of these endeavors best. 

As Division Chair and Professor of Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences, Dr. Axon brings a clear vision to UC’s online MS PharmSci in Health Outcomes and Pharmacoeconomics (MHOPE). Although considered a niche area of study by some, MHOPE graduates are well-prepared to play a role in health policy and decision-making.

We had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Axon about the MHOPE program, his passion for pharmacy, and his advice for online students. 

Dr. Axon’s passion for pharmacy has always been inextricably linked with his family.

As the son of a pharmacist, he found himself constantly exposed to the field growing up. He recalled spending school holidays in the pharmacy with his father. Even at a young age, he’d already developed a true passion for the profession. 

When the time came to attend college, pursuing a degree in pharmacy was a natural choice. Driven by his interests in science and health care, Dr. Axon began working in community pharmacy while in school and continued after graduation.

“I very much enjoyed both the clinical and business aspects of working in community pharmacy,” he said, “but I also found myself drawn to the academic environment.” 

One topic in particular sparked Dr. Axon’s return to school. In the early years of his career, he noticed a gap between prescription drug costs and their apparent health outcomes. His interest in the topic eventually brought him to the United States, where he pursued his PhD in pharmaceutical economics, policy, and outcomes—the eventual foundations for his research and academic career.

"Health outcomes and pharmacoeconomics sounds like a very niche area, and in some ways, it is,” Dr. Axon explained. “But it does incorporate a lot of different areas that may be of interest to people.”

A Master of Science in Health Outcomes and Pharmacoeconomics (MHOPE) blends health economics and health outcomes research, evidence-based insights, data analytics, and pharmacoepidemiology. The central goal of the field is to research the impact of pharmaceutical drugs on patient outcomes and health care costs, which is critical in today’s health care landscape. 

According to Dr. Axon, both quantitative and qualitive research play a role in MHOPE. For example, in his own research he utilizes something called the Economic, Clinical, and Humanistic Outcomes (ECHO) model. The economic and clinical outcomes of a prescription drug can often be captured in a more straightforward way. By considering large data sets, researchers and clinicians can draw broadly from millions of patient outcomes. The same can’t always be said for qualitative research.

Typically reported by the patient, humanistic outcomes take less quantifiable factors into account—quality of life, satisfaction, and self-perception of their own health, to name a few.  

Despite their limitations, humanistic outcomes emphasize a crucial aspect of health outcomes and pharmacoeconomics: the importance of the patient’s voice in their own health care. 

Dr. Axon added that, even when working from a small sample size of patients, he is “capturing very in-depth, rich data about the topic of interest. I think this is very beneficial for healthcare research because it allows me to bring the best of both worlds to answer research questions from multiple perspectives.”

Ultimately, those in the MHOPE field aim to positively impact patient outcomes and health care costs through their research. By “demonstrating the impact of new technologies and making the value-based arguments to help bring them to market,” MHOPE research ensures that new technologies and pharmaceutical drugs are both safe and accessible to patients.

As Division Chair of Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences, Dr. Axon sees his role as two-fold. 

Alongside his active scholarship, he’s dedicated to advancing pharmacy practice and education. Luckily, he’s found that these objectives overlap heavily in his work at UC. 

“Scholarship can be conducted to inform pharmacy practice advancement and in return any issues or innovations in pharmacy practice provide new opportunities for scholarship,” he said. “My role is to drive our pharmacy scholarship and practice advancement mission by facilitating opportunities for new collaborations and providing mentorship and resources as needed.”

UC’s MHOPE program is well-prepared to support this mission. Alongside Dr. Axon are faculty researchers with expertise in numerous areas, including:

• Pharmacoeconomics
• Pharmacoepidemiology
• Pharmacogenomics
• Patient-reported outcomes research
• Patient safety research

UC’s MHOPE program is offered 100% online, but Dr. Axon doesn’t view this as a negative. 

“The key thing to understand is how you can deliver a lesson to students in a meaningful way that helps them achieve their learning goals,” he said.

Teaching within an online environment can be vastly different from teaching in-person. Connecting with students in a virtual space can present unique challenges. How does Dr. Axon work around these potential obstacles?

“One of the things I really focus on in my online courses is providing very clear organization and structure to the course content and mapping the learning objectives to the learning outcomes,” he said. He also works to provide students with opportunities to practice critical thinking skills, such as through application exercises, and to interact with peers and instructors. 

“I find that students can learn just as much from conversations with their peers as they can from studying the material alone,” he added.

In Dr. Axon’s eyes, MHOPE is integral to the future of the health care field.  

The aging population, along with the subsequent increase in health conditions to be prevented, managed, or treated, are major factors here. Alongside the rising costs of healthcare and the AI takeover, the value of health outcomes and pharmacoeconomics research will only grow.

“I foresee a great need for health outcomes scientists with very specialized training to collaborate with interdisciplinary teams and organizations to help improve personalized healthcare for the population.”

In light of this need, what can future or prospective researchers do to prepare themselves? Dr. Axon emphasized the importance of continuing education.

"Graduate education, specifically in the field of health outcomes, will provide you with a personalized portfolio of skills that are very much in demand by employers,” he said.  

Graduates of UC’s MHOPE program are equipped with a valuable combination of skills, making them an asset in settings such as:

• Pharmaceutical companies
• Consulting companies
• Regulatory bodies
• Nonprofit organizations
• Academic partners

Furthermore, the benefits of an online asynchronous master’s program can’t be overstated. UC’s program allows you to personalize your coursework to align with your interests, all while learning at a pace that works with your other commitments. 

Dr. Axon is a crucial voice within the University of Cincinnati’s James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy. Central to both his scholarship and his teaching is a “pay-it-forward" mindset.  

“I have been blessed to receive excellent mentorship throughout my career as a pharmacist, student, faculty member, and now as a senior leader in academia,” he said. “I have been trained to a very high standard, and now I want to pass that on to the next generation. In turn, I would like the next generation not to pay me back, but to pay it forward to their successors.” 

Intrigued by the world of health outcomes and pharmacoeconomics? If so, UC’s online Pharmacy Master’s in Health Outcomes and Pharmacoeconomics (MHOPE) program will allow you to take the next step. Connect with your Enrollment Services Advisor today and start exploring your options as an online learner.