On January 8, 1964, I opened my first community pharmacy in Oakland, California. At one point I owned six pharmacies, but now I am down to one state-of-the-art pharmacy in an ethnically diverse low-income community. While pursuing my dream, I had other opportunities to expand in different areas of pharmacy practice as well as other businesses. Technology has changed the way pharmacists practice their profession now. There is minimal compounding and mixing. I enjoyed doing that. Technology allows us to take better care of people today.

Pharmacy practice puts us at the top of the technology chain in our community. Whether the patient goes to a physician, dentist, nurse practitioner, podiatrist or even a veterinarian, this is where all medical records merge. I'm still fascinated by that. Thirty-five years ago, I found a parallel in the use of technology and information management in my pharmacy practice. In 1981, I was one of the first pharmacies to install a computer in my community to help manage patient information. Now I run the largest pharmacy benefit management company in the U.S. specializing in the prescription processing and administration for medically indigent men and women with HIV.

What is your specialty, and why did you decide to choose it?
I have two distinct specialties. One is providing comprehensive pharmacy services program administration (PBM) for the underserved through pharmacies across the states of Washington and California. The other is providing direct pharmacy services to an underserved, low-income community with very diverse cultures, as exemplified by the people you find in California today.

I had planned to open my first pharmacy in a middle-class community of blue- white- collar families. The reality was, as a minority businessman in the early '60s even in California, I found myself opening a pharmacy in an underserved area instead. However, after a few years, I realized that this is where I was needed most, and I felt at home. I found myself in the type of community I grew up in. I understood its needs and values, and the community showed its appreciation for my being there. Forty years later, I still feel at home and have no intentions of ever leaving.

How long have you been involved in the profession?
Forty-six years.

What is the one goal that you have set for yourself relative to your career?
To provide the vehicle that will drive centralization of our nation's HIV program for the medically indigent. The HIV drug program is a federally funded program augmented by state funds; The Ryan White Case Fund helps with the cost of some of this medicine. We need to be able to provide a level of care to give patients the best chance across the country. For instance, a single black man in the South may not have access to the medication that he needs. With national centralization, the level of funding would not be determined by individual states. People with HIV are living longer and in many instances, continue to work, pay taxes and participate in their treatment. We are a mobile society. This would help overcome the challenge when people move from state to state. There needs to be continuum of treatment on a consistent basis.

Technology has given our company the resources to efficiently centralize each state's program. I've already invested in a team of IT scientists to work on converting entire functions in my current program, conversions geared toward my goal of centralizing all state HIV prescription programs under a federally sponsored program that will guarantee equal access to benefits and levels of care for qualifying patients in all the states. This has been in the planning for two years, and I hope to have the full application ready to preview before my 70th birthday in June.

My 12 years of experience in developing and managing this program for the states of California and Washington have given me the belief that significant savings in administrative costs will be realized and could very well be shifted toward treatment.

What do you like best about working in the pharmaceutical field?
I am a people person. I have the opportunity to encounter hundreds of people in my day- to-day business and professional life. I realize that I have to continue to learn and keep abreast of the new technologies, and the scientific applications of pharmacy research and practice in order to remain competent and still needed in my community. I take pride in the cooperation and support of my professional peers.

What are your most proud accomplishments in your profession? In your life?
To be recognized by my peers in the pharmacy profession, especially by my colleagues and associates within Ramsell Corporation, and by the community I serve. I was recently honored for my work in the community by KQED, a PBS television station in California, as "Your Hero of the Year 2004" during African American month. I also am the architect of a pharmacy benefit management specialty, the largest of its kind in the U.S.

My family life is very private and similarly rewarding and fulfilling.

What goes through your mind before you go to work each day?
I typically begin my day by pointing and clicking for everything that I need to know from within my home office complex. The information I gather from this exercise points me in the direction I will go to spend the rest of my day between one of three offices I have within the San Francisco Bay area.

What is your favorite part of the day?
In the evening after dinner. This is when I can be a companion and enjoy the "honey do" time. I rarely let that time be interrupted. I stopped bringing work home 10 years ago!

What, if any, barriers or challenges have you personally had to overcome?
My mother would not allow my brother or me to claim being African American as an excuse. She would tell us to stop whining because there are still more opportunities out there than you have time to take advantage of. She would tell us, "Keep hustling. Have faith and pray, and you will be just fine." I experienced being an African American with all of its shortcomings, but soon realized that she was right. I was a kid who grew up in the projects, who went to a university, and now I have a successful company. Through mother mentoring, I learned that anything is possible if you prepare yourself well.

Are there challenges within the profession? If so, what are they?
I was trained in an era that science didn't give us what it gives us today. I have retained my competence as a scientist by continuous learning, reading, conferences and seminars. My challenge of the day is to keep the momentum going and the wheels turning, because you never know when the wheels will stop.

How do you address health care disparities among minority populations within your profession? I think there is greater opportunity for pharmacists to exercise their skills among those who have the disparities. We become more competent in our practice by the greater challenges we encounter. The pharmacist is the most accessible person of the health care team. You typically don't need an appointment to see your practicing pharmacist.

Who is/are your role model(s) or mentor(s)?
In the profession, I had two mentors, both deceased. First was Byron Rumford, a pharmacist who owned a community pharmacy in Berkeley, California. As a member of the California General Assembly, he authored the Rumford Fair Housing Act of 1963. He championed a cause to overcome silent discrimination in housing. My second mentor was Dr, Arthur Coleman, a physician who worked to provide managed care to the underserved communities. He always told me, "When at the end of the day you feel like you haven't done enough, don't be discouraged because tomorrow is a new day."

What are your plans for the future?
I am in good health. I work every day. I take advantage of God's gifts to me. I plan to continue working while I am physically and mentally able to do so. I love what I do.

What words of wisdom do you have for students just graduating?
Take advantage of diversity. Don't make it an obstacle. Consider each opportunity to reach out and engage the broadest cross section of humanity that you can find. There are no shortcuts to experience. If you are in a community with diverse cultures, the treatment outcomes are influenced by your understanding and respecting cultural differences.

What do you like to do in your spare time (hobbies, interests, sports, travel, volunteering)?
I enjoy sports, and I'm an avid spectator. I have season tickets to the San Francisco 49ers, Warriors basketball and San Francisco Giants baseball. I enjoy music, especially jazz played by the masters of my generation. My wife says I can cook like a four-star chef, and I enjoy entertaining my core group of friends and family.