Mayor McFarlane is helping the City of Raleigh save taxpayer money by using her business experience as President/CEO of MedPro Rx. From Friday’s edition of the News & Observer:
Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane got a chance this week to put her decades as a pharmacist to work for the city.
The City Council voted to start contract negotiations for a new pharmacy benefit manager serving city employees. McFarlane joined city human resources staffers in combing over proposals from five companies for the service.
The contract with OptumRx is expected to save the city $4.2 million over three years. McFarlane also requested that employees be permitted to use local pharmacies instead of a mail-order service, a provision that should help local businesses while also cutting costs.
“I’m just trying to save the city some money,” said McFarlane, who owns a specialty pharmaceutical business, MedPro Rx.
Mayor McFarlane and her husband Ron launched MedPro Rx in 2002 to provide medications and services for people with chronic illness. Mayor McFarlane has successfully led and managed the health care team made up of pharmacists, nurses, reimbursement specialists, community advocates, inventory managers, financial analysts, delivery personnel and sales representatives. MedPro has received numerous accolades and awards in the past decade, and just this year Mayor McFarlane was named one of the Triangle’s top entrepreneurs in 2013 by Business Leader Magazine.
As a small business owner, Mayor McFarlane has a firsthand understanding of what it takes to make Raleigh a business-friendly city. Her business success and acumen have been important in shaping her leadership style as a competent and efficient consensus builder.