Although you’re unlikely to confuse us with your neighborhood drugstore, you may be surprised to know we do have pharmacists on staff here at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas (BCBSKS). Our pharmacists are crucial to helping our company make decisions about prescription drugs, pharmacies and maintaining professional relationships with providers.

From time to time, you will notice blog posts about topics from the pharmaceutical side of health insurance. These will come from our pharmacists as they chime in to help you better understand the decisions we make.

Let’s introduce you to our BCBSKS pharmacists!

Ken Mishler, Corporate Pharmacist

Ken began his career with BCBSKS in 2015 serving as the company’s corporate pharmacist. Prior to his employment here, he spent the first 25 years of his career in the hospital clinical setting at Labette Health in Parsons, KS, the Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Lawrence, KS, and the Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, KS. Between 2005 and 2015, he worked in health care quality improvement for the Kansas Foundation for Medical Care in Topeka, KS.

Ken was born and raised in Baxter Springs, KS. Ken holds two degrees from the University of Kansas, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy in 1982 and his Doctor of Pharmacy in 1995. He also earned his Master of Business Administration degree from Baker University in 2014. Ken is married to a pharmacist and has three children who are all in the nursing field.

Tiffany Liesmann, Staff Pharmacist

Tiffany began her career with us here at BCBSKS in 2016, filling a new position as the company’s staff pharmacist. Prior to that, she spent eight years as a community retail pharmacist, both in Lawton – Ft. Sill, OK and Topeka, KS, while her husband served as a JAG officer in the U.S. Army. After she and her husband came back to Topeka, she began to miss the clinical aspect and hospital side of medication use. She joined the team at St. Francis Hospital as a relief pharmacist in addition to her full-time work in community retail, and spent three years doing both. Her point of view is crucial to BCBSKS, as she brings with her the first-hand experience of working with pharmacy customers and their concerns.

Tiffany was born and raised in Topeka. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy in 2008 from the University of Kansas.