iPMI Global Speaks with Mike Rizo, CEO, PharmCare Services

In this iPMI Global Executive Interview, Christopher Knight, CEO, iPMI Global, met with Mike Rizo, CEO, PharmCare Services. They discussed PharmCare Services role as an International Pharmaceutical Manager (IPM) and the evolution from a training and staffing company to a global provider of specialized therapies, emphasizing their mission to align medication management with improved patient outcomes and cost-efficiency worldwide. 

Please introduce yourself and background in the international healthcare insurance market:

My name is Mike Rizo, and I am the CEO of PharmCare Services. My professional journey has been rooted in creating sustainable, scalable healthcare solutions that bridge gaps in access, cost, and continuity of care. Over the past two decades, I’ve focused on advancing pharmaceutical management in healthcare delivery systems— more-so internationally in the last decade. Our mission at PharmCare Services has always been to design innovative strategies that align medication management with improved patient outcomes, while ensuring cost-efficiency and operational clarity for our partners worldwide. With a strong foundation in pharmacological science and healthcare operations, I’ve been privileged to lead our organization in forming cross-border alliances that redefine the standards for specialty pharmacy care in international markets.

PharmCare Services (PCS) was founded in 2005 as a company focused on the training and staffing of pharmacy professionals, and later as a specialty pharmacy providing highly specialized therapies in Florida, mainly to managed care groups and US insurance payers. Over time, we have evolved to meet the needs of our global clients—insurance companies with international coverage and physical offices in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. We have immediate access to a network of over 65,000 pharmacies across the United States, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, and Europe. We own pharmaceutical wholesalers, specialty pharmacies, and infusion suites in the U.S.A., Europe, and Latin America. From our humble beginnings, we have become an International Pharmaceutical Manager (IPM) that serves patients, providers, third-party administrators (TPAs), and international insurance companies alike.

What is your company’s strategy for expanding international pharmaceutical management (IPM) services in international markets, especially in regions with emerging healthcare systems?

We have a multinational, multidisciplinary team that maintains a physical presence in the United States, Europe, and Latin America. Besides having people with feet on the ground in the communities and markets we are trying to serve, we provide interconsultation between medical professionals across borders to streamline the flow of communication and information. This service helps spread the reach and breadth of knowledge available in areas and markets where, previously, it was hard to access. The expansion of services is proportional to the expansion of information. We are starting to serve Africa, the Middle East, and Asia in 2026.

How do you adapt your IPM model to align with the healthcare infrastructure and regulatory environments of different countries?

We stay up-to-date on the latest regulations for each country, and apply a solution-based, constantly evolving, approach. The pharmaceutical and healthcare industry is in a state of constant change, so being able to adapt as the need arises is crucial.

How does your organization ensure affordable medication access in countries where drug pricing and reimbursement structures differ significantly from the U.S.?

We are always looking for the most cost-effective solution to any situation, as long as that solution does not sacrifice the quality or intensity of care that the patient needs. Sometimes medication affordability is rigid, and though reducing costs is one our primary goals, it is never at the expense of the patient.

What role does your IPM play in negotiating drug prices internationally, and how do you manage relationships with multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers?

Since our locations are strategically located in different parts of the U.S.A., Latin America, and Europe, and our teams of pharmacists, physicians, and attorneys are experts in their regions, we are able to partner with other manufacturers and distributors to help them with the pharmacovigilance, dispensation, administration, and clinical monitoring of the specialized therapies. This takes the burden from them in infrastructure and allows them to stay compliant in a very regulated industry. This results in efficiency that translates into safety and savings for everyone.

What are the biggest regulatory challenges your IPM faces in global markets, and how are you navigating differing compliance frameworks?

The biggest regulatory challenge we face is the stringent regulatory framework of the pharmaceutical industry combined with the lack of regulatory harmonization. Our industry is the most regulated of the healthcare services, with so many rules and laws conflicting and overlapping in different countries. Though we may not possess the power to change these regulations, we have the ability to be informed, and understand their complexities, so that we can successfully operate within them, and serve the patients who need us. We navigate these compliance frameworks one at a time, crossing our “t’s” and dotting our “i’s,” to try to eliminate any complications before they arise. Attentive and informed is the only way through.

How does your company ensure ethical and transparent practices across jurisdictions with varying standards for international pharmaceutical management?

Our team’s top two focuses are cost-reduction for our clients and premier-quality care for their patients. These pursuits are not exclusive and maintaining high ethical and transparency standards is the cornerstone to their achievement. We make information of our operations readily available, and above all, we maintain clear and reliable communication with the patients we serve, keeping them consistently up-to-date on their care.

How are you leveraging technology to standardize IPM operations and patient outcomes across multiple countries and health systems?

We leverage the latest technologies through our development of a state-of-the-art, online pharmaceutical management platform, “PCSRx,” available to both clients and their patients. It provides a clear delineation of pharmaceutical claims by the stages in their lifecycle, easy-to-understand data graphics, and global live-tracking of medications in transit, all with real-time updates. It is the first of its kind.

Are there specific innovations or digital health solutions that you've developed or adapted for non-U.S. markets that differ from your domestic strategy?

As stated before, our pharmaceutical management platform will help to revolutionize communication and transparency among all members in the industry, for U.S. and non-U.S. markets alike. We wanted to create a solution that would benefit everybody, not just this or that region.

How does your IPM model address disparities in drug availability and healthcare access in lower- and middle-income countries?

Although we wish it were not so, the reality of the pharmaceutical industry is that, sometimes, certain medications and services are not available everywhere they are needed. At PharmCare Services, however, we are actively working to make it so that wherever one can get an IPMI policy, you can receive our services. Global access is the goal.

What metrics do you use to evaluate success in international markets—are they focused more on cost containment, clinical outcomes, or system integration?

We are constantly collecting and analysing key performance indicators, optimizing the value of our service to enable better health for the patient, and cost management for our clients. Thus, we have an equal focus on cost containment, clinical outcomes, and system integration. However, if one had to be picked, clinical outcomes is by far the most important, because without the patients we serve being properly taken care of, the rest of the industry and its members lose their relevance. If we can help even one patient, then our purpose and reason for existing is accomplished. Through this, we are then able to reduce costs and integrate varying systems with increasing success.