Category: Divisions
School Launches Center for Medication Optimization through Practice and Policy
April 20, 2015The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy is creating the Center for Medication Optimization through Practice and Policy to improve the safety and effectiveness of medication use through innovative models of practice and health policy. Joel Farley, PhD, an associate professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, will serve as interim director of the new center. “We see a big opportunity to improve the use of medications in the U.S.,” Farley says. “There is consistent evidence that less than half of patients on chronic medications adhere to their treatment regimens. These patients are at higher risk for adverse drug … Read more
Pharmacoengineering at UNC Gets $1.8 Million Boost
April 20, 2015The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has received $1.8 million through the Research Opportunities Initiative Awards from the University of North Carolina General Administration to support research into drug-delivery systems for treating cancer and other diseases. The award funds two pharmacoengineering initiatives that bring together scientists at UNC and North Carolina State University. Pharmacoengineering is a discipline developed at the School that combines engineering and the pharmaceutical sciences to improve the delivery of medicines in the body. The grant funds collaborations dedicated to addressing two research challenges: Treating brain cancer with … Read more
K. H. Lee Receives AACP’s Highest Research Honor
April 17, 2015Kuo-Hsiung Lee, PhD, has been named the winner of the 2015 Ernest H. Volwiler Award, the highest research award from the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. He will be honored during the 2015 AACP annual meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, July 11 to 15. Lee is the Kenan Distinguished Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and director of the Natural Products Research Laboratories in the School’s Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry. He has been a member of the School’s faculty for forty-five years. The award recognizes one researcher annually that has made outstanding lifetime contributions to pharmaceutical and clinical … Read more
Cost of Cancer Drugs Varies Widely Based on Who’s Paying
April 6, 2015Uninsured cancer patients are asked to pay from two to forty-three times what Medicare would pay for chemotherapy drugs, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Researchers led by Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, reviewed newly available Medicare data on what physicians not affiliated with hospitals charged for chemotherapy drugs delivered intravenously in 2012. For example, uninsured patients who did not negotiate the billed amounts could expect to pay $6,711 for an infusion of the colorectal cancer drug oxaliplatin. However, Medicare and private health plans only pay $3,090 and $3,616 for the same drug, respectively. … Read more
Bob Blouin Inducted into UK Pharmacy Alumni Hall of Fame
April 1, 2015Robert A. Blouin, PharmD, dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, was one of four inducted into the inaugural class of the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy Hall of Distinguished Alumni March 19–20. Blouin was among those UK College of Pharmacy graduates recognized for their lifetime professional contributions to pharmacy. He graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1978 and spent more than twenty-five years there as a faculty member until he was appointed dean at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 2003. The UK College of Pharmacy created the Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2014 to … Read more
School Hosts Summit for Provider Status at Asheville Campus
March 31, 2015The UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy tackled the hot-button issue of provider status in March with its Asheville Summit for Provider Status. The summit provided an opportunity for students to learn about provider status and hear about successful models of integrating pharmacists into health care. The summit was attended by more than 120 students, state officials and representatives from nine pharmacy schools from across the country. “The goal was to bring students from all over the region and educate them,” says Emily Eddy, pharmacy student at the School’s branch in Asheville and chair of the summit’s planning committee. “Many students … Read more
UNC, UK Team Up to Examine Medication Optimization in Brain-Injured Patients
March 31, 2015A research team from the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, UNC School of Medicine, and University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy has received a $75,000 grant to investigate whether elevated renal clearance in patients with traumatic brain injury compromises therapeutic drug concentrations. The award is part of the priority effort by the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Award program to promote interinstitutional collaboration and to fund innovative translational research projects to advance patient care. This is the first award of its kind for the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and an institutional partner outside the state of … Read more
AACP Grant Funds Experiential Education Program to Address Mental-Health Stigma
March 26, 2015Some pharmacists have reported feeling uncomfortable interacting with patients with mental illnesses. Jacqui McLaughlin, PhD, is partnering with faculty at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and pharmacists at UNC Hospitals to address that issue with a new program for third-year student pharmacists. In this new program, pharmacy students guided by pharmacists will lead inpatient psychiatry medication-education groups for psychiatry patients being treated at UNC Hospitals. The program will be evaluated to better understand how leading these groups can impact mental health stigma and student self-efficacy. McLaughlin is the principal investigator on the project, which is made possible by a … Read more
Carpenter to Study How Often Chronically Ill Children Visit the Pharmacy
March 23, 2015Convincing children with chronic diseases to take their medicine can be just as challenging as getting them to eat their vegetables. Knowing how often kids accompany their parents to pick up prescriptions at pharmacies could lead to better ways of communicating with children about their medication, says Delesha Carpenter, PhD, MSPH, an assistant professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Carpenter is working with faculty at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy to examine how often children with chronic diseases accompany their parents to pick up prescriptions at community pharmacies. … Read more
Roberts Wins UNC Impact Award for Analysis of Pharmacy Assistance Program
March 18, 2015PhD candidate Andrew Roberts, PharmD, and his research collaborators used administrative claims data from 2009 to 2011 to investigate demographic characteristics and prescription and health-care use patterns of 7,180 members UNC Health Care Pharmacy Assistance Program. His work won a 2015 Graduate Education Advancement Board Impact Award from the Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The awards recognize graduate students for contributions they make to North Carolina. Medication costs present a major barrier to chronic disease management for patients with low income and without health insurance. The UNC Health Care Pharmacy Assistance Program is a charitable … Read more