Fireside Chat: Inside CoverMyMeds Patient Direct

As Chief Product and Commercial Officer, Chrissy Hand is responsible for CoverMyMeds’ product portfolio, leading the development and commercialization of innovative solutions that improve patient access and affordability of essential medications.

Chrissy leads cross-functional teams focused on Product, Sales and Marketing, and is responsible for market insights, customer engagement, product development and brand awareness. Chrissy’s organization is responsible for the achievement of CoverMyMeds’ revenue objectives and sales operations, ensuring growth and achievement of financial targets.

Chrissy joined CoverMyMeds in 2014 helping to build and scale the company from a startup through its acquisition by McKesson for $1.1 billion in 2017. Post-acquisition, Chrissy has held multiple leadership roles across the organization, including mostly recently serving as the Chief Operations Officer for the past three years. Having spent the last decade focused on patient access, Chrissy has a deep understanding of patient needs and how pharma, payers, providers and pharmacies all contribute to helping patients get the medication they need to live healthier lives. Prior to CoverMyMeds, Chrissy’s career was focused on building startups and marketing strategies for national consumer brands.

Chrissy holds a degree from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. In 2022, Chrissy was selected as one of Columbus’ 40 Under 40, an award recognizing leaders in the community. She resides in Columbus, OH and serves on the board of the Columbus Public Library.

Lauren Fields leads Product and Commercial Strategy, Governance, and Operations at CoverMyMeds, where she shapes enterprise-wide strategy and execution. Her work centers on aligning sales, product, and commercial enablement teams, modernizing CRM systems, enabling commercial effectiveness, and integrating businesses into a unified go-to-market approach.

She joined CoverMyMeds in 2021 to build and lead Commercial Operations, playing a key role in merging three legacy organizations and launching foundational tools to support growth. Her leadership has been instrumental in driving cross-functional alignment and accelerating business outcomes.

Prior to joining CoverMyMeds, Lauren spent 18 years at Cardinal Health, holding senior leadership roles across the Pharmaceutical Segment. For over a decade, she partnered closely with Biopharma manufacturers to deliver strategic services, including brand awareness, copay support and product launch solutions. In addition to creating solutions and managing sales to Biopharma, Lauren also worked in marketing supporting retail independent pharmacies and then moved into Sales Operations for the ParMed business where she led various parts of the business and oversaw their pharma modernization efforts. By 2018, she was leading the ParMed and First Veterinary Supply businesses as well as inside sales for generics through their Pharmaceutical Distribution segment overseeing a $1.5 billion portfolio.

Lauren is a two-time Cardinal Health Chairman’s Award winner and a graduate of high-potential leadership programs including McKesson’s Amplify and Cardinal Health’s Signature and Innovate. She’s recognized for her leadership style, ability to drive change, and commitment to building high-performing teams.

Outside of work, Lauren is deeply engaged in her community, having served on the boards of Neighborhood Bridges and the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, and enjoys spending time with her family.

Ryan Merrell is a seasoned pharmacy and healthcare technology leader who currently drives product strategy and development for CoverMyMeds Patient Direct, Clinical Research and Free Goods Pharmacy solutions. His work focuses on improving medication access, affordability and patient engagement, delivering innovative solutions that connect patients to the medications they need.

With over two decades of pharmacy experience, Ryan’s career began in retail pharmacy stocking shelves at age 14, becoming a licensed pharmacy technician a few years later. He worked in pharmacy throughout college, later serving as Director of Marketing and General Manager of an independent Health Mart Pharmacy in Northern Utah.

Ryan joined McKesson Pharmacy Systems in 2016 as Product Manager for EnterpriseRx, leading initiatives to optimize pharmacy workflows and enterprise technology. In 2019, he transitioned to CoverMyMeds, where he helped shape the Specialty Product Team and later stood up the Pharmacy Solutions Product Team in 2021.

Ryan holds a BS in Business Administration/Marketing and an MBA, combining business acumen with hands-on pharmacy experience. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife and three teenage sons.