John K. Middleton

College of Pharmacy, June 15, 2010

John K. Middleton received his bachelor of science degree in Pharmacy in 1974 from the University of Minnesota. He served as president and CEO of Diversified Pharmaceutical Services (DPS) from 1986-1992. Under his leadership, DPS established a national network that would become a model for other UnitedHealthcare (UHC) units. He is credited with leading the way on numerous "firsts" that have been the foundation of modern pharmacy managed care. After selling DPS in 1994, he continued to play a key role in the company's healthcare division until Express Scripts acquired it in 1999. Throughout his career and retirement, he has actively mentored many young pharmacists in the managed care field. He has served as an adjunct faculty member in the Social and Administrative Pharmacy Department in the University of Minnesota's College of Pharmacy and has given lectures to pharmacy students and advised graduate students on their research. He also continues to offer input and assistance to managed-care executives and pharmacists at all levels of career development. He was recognized as the pioneer behind the Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) industry at "Dialogues in Managed Care Leadership" program attended by a national audience, which was hosted by the College of Pharmacy in 2009.