Lyle Matthews
Advisory Board
A life-long resident of Southern California and 15-year contributor to the HCL® Advisory Board, Lyle Matthews, Pharm.D., MAM, is a former Director of Pharmacy at two California hospitals. He earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of the Pacific School of Pharmacy and his Master of Arts in Management from the University of Redlands School of Business.
Matthews discussed his unique contribution to the board.
“I have a particular interest in medication safety,” he said, “and the various ways to put every possible mechanism in place to ensure proper storage, delivery and administration of medications.”
Matthews said he was drawn to medicine as a means to help people.
“Every part of the healthcare team is critical, but pharmacy is where much of the actual treatment happens,” he explained. “The way medications work fascinated me and I wanted to learn how the pharmacology and chemistry of medications interacts with human anatomy to result in therapeutic improvement for people.”
Of all the benefits his work provides, he most enjoys helping others help themselves.
“Ensuring people receive their medications,” he explained, “which are hopefully going to improve their health, in a safe and efficient manner.”
While they do have value, regulatory demands also create challenges for the industry, according to Mathews.
“The rules, laws, and regulations are in place to help ensure operational standards and medication safety,” he said, “but they can be very difficult to keep track of and meet at all times.”
Taking on leadership roles for several pharmacies and hospital pharmacy departments is the accomplishment for which Matthews is most proud.
“I had to quickly learn many other aspects of leadership, management, finance, human resources and others that are way outside of the things we learn in pharmacy school,” he said.
In his free time, Matthews enjoys spending time with his family, including his wife who is a registered nurse and his two children who are in college. He also enjoys fishing and playing golf when time permits.
