Health-Outcomes Researcher Joel Farley Promoted to Associate Professor

Joel Farley, PhD, has been promoted to the rank of associate professor in the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, where he is also the director of graduate studies.

Farley is a pharmaceutical-outcomes researcher specializing in the assessment of pharmaceutical policy changes on clinical, economic, and epidemiologic outcomes in vulnerable patient populations. He is a licensed pharmacist and the author of thirty-eight published articles.

“Dr. Farley is widely regarded for his work in the field of pharmaceutical policy and outcomes research, particularly his focus evaluating the effect of drug policies on patient health outcomes,” says Bob Blouin, dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. “He is a highly valued member of our faculty as evidenced by his research, teaching, and service to the School and to the citizens of the state and nation.”

Farley’s expertise lies in analyzing claims data from secondary sources, including publicly available surveys such as the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey and private health insurance claims data from managed care groups including United Health Care and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina. Farley has extensive experience working with Medicaid claims data. His prior research has examined the effect of Medicaid prescription-managed-care policies on economic and clinical outcomes in patients with mental illness. He currently has a contract with North Carolina Community Care Networks to examine the effect of a provider registry implemented in the North Carolina Medicaid program on improving antipsychotic prescribing in pediatric patients.

Farley has served as a consultant to Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina to support the evaluation of a copayment waiver for medications used to treat chronic diseases.  His current research program includes funded projects to examine continuity of medication prescribing and its effect on health outcomes (AHRQ – 1 R21 HS19445-01); an evaluation of UNC Hospital’s Pharmacy Assistance Program, which is designed to improve access to medications for patients who are not otherwise able to afford them (NC TraCS Institute Grant – 550KR21209); and an examination of the effect of Community Care of North Carolina’s medical home model on the quality of care for patients with severe mental illness (AHRQ – 1R24 HS019659-01).

Farley received his PhD in social, administrative, and clinical pharmacy from the University of Minnesota where he also completed a managed care pharmaceutical outcomes fellowship. He joined the School in 2006.