2026 I.M.P.A.C.T. Awards Finalist
Kathy Hrncir
MSDA, MBA, CPhT
BI Developer Associate, The University of Kansas Health System.
U.S
Bio
With nearly four decades of pharmacy experience and certification as a Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) since 2000, I have worked across retail, hospital, long-term care, and telepharmacy settings. At age 50, I returned to school to study data analytics, driven by a desire to make a greater impact on pharmacy operations, workflows, and outcomes. My combination of clinical and analytical expertise provides a unique perspective that bridges the gap between frontline pharmacy operations and data-driven decision-making. Having firsthand experience in the environments I support, I am able to go beyond simply delivering requested solutions by identifying opportunities for additional improvements that enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and patient care.
Her Impact Story
I am being recognized for developing data-driven solutions that help pharmacy teams work more efficiently and make informed decisions. By creating customized dashboards that consolidate complex information into actionable insights, I have reduced manual effort, improved visibility into key operational metrics, and enabled users to focus on workflow improvements, patient safety, and outcomes rather than data gathering.
One of the most impactful projects is the Inpatient Pharmacy Dashboard, which uses dispensing cabinet data to calculate optimal par levels based on medication usage, unit of issue, cost, package size, and beyond-use dating (BUD). The dashboard also provides insight into medication expiration trends, drawer utilization, and inventory optimization opportunities. This solution saves the organization more than $100,000 annually by eliminating the need to purchase a comparable vendor product.
The Automation Dashboard serves as a centralized source for dispensing cabinet configurations, operating room scanning metrics, barcode mappings, and item identifier conversions between automation systems and the electronic health record, improving efficiency and system management.
The Medication Safety Dashboards consolidate safety event data, allowing users to identify trends and target improvement efforts. The Controlled Substance Dashboard streamlines auditing by combining multiple data sources and highlighting items that require review. This reduces time spent compiling reports and allows pharmacists to focus on investigation and resolution. Both of these greatly improve patient safety.
By combining pharmacy operations expertise with data analytics, I create solutions that transform manual, time-intensive processes into automated insights. These tools help pharmacy teams work more efficiently, make better decisions, and dedicate more time to activities that directly support patient care and safety.
Measurable Results
The dashboards and analytics solutions I have developed have delivered significant operational and financial benefits across multiple pharmacy areas. By automating the collection, analysis, and presentation of complex data, these tools have eliminated the need for numerous manual reports, saving pharmacy staff and pharmacy leaders countless hours each month. The Inpatient Pharmacy Dashboard alone saves the organization more than $100,000 annually by providing functionality comparable to a vendor solution without the associated purchase cost. Additionally, the dashboards improve decision-making by providing real-time visibility into inventory management, medication safety trends, automation system performance, and controlled substance monitoring. This has increased operational efficiency, strengthened regulatory and safety oversight, and enabled pharmacy staff to spend more time on patient care, investigations, and process improvement rather than data gathering and report reconciliation.
Quotes & Perspective
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Personal Quote
“Stay curious, challenge assumptions, and create solutions that make a difference.”
What I.M.P.A.C.T. Means to Her
Recognition of pharmacy technicians is especially meaningful because it shines a light on a profession that often works behind the scenes. It celebrates the impact technicians have on patients, teams, and organizations while demonstrating how the role has evolved into a critical driver of safety, efficiency, and innovation in healthcare.
What First Drew Her to This Work
Throughout my career, I have enjoyed approaching challenges from unconventional perspectives and developing solutions beyond traditional approaches. In my current role, I have the opportunity to apply that mindset by creating innovative solutions that improve pharmacy workflows and drive operational efficiency.
A Moment She's Most Proud Of
Rather than one defining moment, I am most proud of the collective accomplishments throughout my career. Every role, challenge, and opportunity to learn has helped me grow both professionally and personally. Seeing the knowledge I’ve gained over the years translated into meaningful improvements for pharmacy operations and patient safety is what I value most.
Advice for Other Pharmacy Technicians
A commitment to lifelong learning can open doors you never imagined. Career paths rarely follow a straight line, and staying curious allows you to adapt, grow, and seize new opportunities. Age does not limit potential; a learning mindset keeps it expanding.
Key Takeaway
” If people took one thing away from my story, I would want it to be that every experience has value and can contribute to something greater. By staying curious, continuing to learn, and embracing new challenges, you can combine seemingly different skills and perspectives to solve problems in meaningful ways. For me, bringing together pharmacy operations experience and data analytics has created opportunities to improve processes, support teams, and make a lasting impact on patient care. “
Her Impact Story
Links to Feature
Testimonials
Kathy has been an amazing resource for the pharmacy team. She has helped us leverage our data to improve services and is always willing to help. She brings a different perspective with her technician and analyst experience.
Kathy is strongly committed to optimizing patient care and pharmacy workflows by using data to drive decisions and improvement work. Her background as a pharmacy technician gives her a unique perspective as an analyst and, therefore, results in data being presented in a way that is easy to digest and utilize.
Voting is Open
Support Kathy Hrncir
in the 2026 I.M.P.A.C.T. Awards
Cast your vote, then join the LIVE Online Pharmacy Technician I.M.P.A.C.T. Awards Ceremony on RXTech Day, October 20, 2026.
Voting closes September 30, 2026