April 20, 2015
The 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 events which can lead to expensive hospital admissions, emergency room admissions, and adverse clinical outcomes.”
Ultimately, improper medication use is a huge avoidable cost to the health-care system with some estimates exceeding $200 billion per year in the U.S. alone, Farley says.
The center is being established to improve the safety and effectiveness of medication use through innovative models of practice and health policy. The center will engage in a number of key activities to facilitate better medication use including the adoption of advanced models of care delivery, evaluation of the effectiveness of innovative models of care, and serving as a national leader in the dissemination of information, training of clinicians, and informing of policy makers. The purpose of these activities is ultimately to improve medication use and the health of patients.
Joel F. Farley, PhD, is a pharmacist and pharmaceutical outcomes researcher specializing in the evaluation of pharmaceutical policies and programs in patients with chronic health conditions. The purpose of his research is to inform the effective adoption of policies and programs to improve medication use in patients with chronic health conditions while safeguarding accessibility to medications for patients who need them.
Farley completed his undergraduate work at the University of Wisconsin and earned 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.
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