November 2022

Welcome to the next edition of the Buffalo Pharmacy Bulletin (BPB) where we will continue to explore and discuss social issues in health care and how we as academicians, practitioners and scientists can lead and support these issues. The BPB will also keep you updated on the latest school news, highlighting the outstanding work of our UB SPPS community.

“The best way to ensure we can support and mentor our future pharmacists and research scientists is to make sure we are reviewing and discussing what is currently happening in the dynamic and ever-changing world we live in.”

Equitable quality of life is dependent on equitable outcomes of healthcare interventions. Our healthcare system, though, is fraught with inequities, a multifaceted problem with disparities in access to and outcomes of care. Barriers to certain forms of care must be considered as well.

Discussion around access to care has focused mostly on financial hurdles, and rightfully so. There is a relationship between lifespan and economic status in the US; tellingly, the impact of economic health on lifespan was magnified by the Covid-19 pandemic. The Affordable Care Act made strides to address this issue but fell short of what truly is necessary.

There are geographic and situational (language, for example) elements contributing to inequitable access to the healthcare system. Urban and rural “care deserts” are common, an outcome largely of a shortfall in primary care physicians. This deficit is exacerbated by the “pandemic burnout” experienced across the health professions.

Barriers to optimal outcomes exist even after folks gain access to the healthcare system. We do not have an acceptably diverse healthcare workforce, a critical shortcoming because the degree to which a patient finds a provider “relatable” influences trust in the provider and, ultimately, the quality of the outcome of care.

Recently, healthcare itself has come under attack, resulting in additional barriers to appropriate care. Vaccine mis- and dis-information and promulgation of unproven and sometimes dangerous treatment approaches have been highlighted during the Covid-19 pandemic. The increasingly aggressive legal barriers to reproductive care, aimed almost exclusively at women, and to care for transitioning adolescents, represent especially pernicious impediments to specific sectors of the healthcare ecosystem.

Because of the vital role played by academic health professions in preparing the healthcare workforce, we have a special obligation to address inequities that impact the communities we serve. These are problems that we must, can, and will solve. Here at UB, we are focusing attention on social determinants of health as we restructure our Doctor of Pharmacy curriculum. Our faculty are engaged in a variety of research and outreach efforts intended to understand and mitigate effects of disparities in care.

We have launched the Pharmacy Academic and Leadership (PAL) fellowship program, a unique program providing training to a diverse cadre of post graduates, with the main goal of increasing role models for student-pharmacists from under-represented groups and increasing the diversity of pharmacy faculty nationally.

This and other recruitment efforts offer us opportunities to explore new relationships and to continue to diversify our candidate pool. I am proud of the values that guide our school, each and every day, and am grateful for the opportunity to serve as dean.

Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving.

Gary M. Pollack, PhD '84
Dean and Professor

We are pleased to welcome the following new faculty member to UB SPPS!

WNY COVID-19 Collaborative established 10 public health fellowships
The Western New York (WNY) COVID-19 Collaborative, which includes the University at Buffalo and more than a dozen regional organizations, has expanded its team with the addition of 10 individuals through the New York State Public Health Corps Fellowship Program.

AAMC awards UB national grant to teach health sciences students how to tackle, overcome medical disinformation
The University at Buffalo is one of five universities nationwide that has been awarded an important grant from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) that supports teaching health sciences students how to dispel medical disinformation.

Adams, PhD student, receives ISoP Unsung Hero Award
Kimberly Adams, PhD student in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, received a 2022 Unsung Hero Award from the International Society of Pharmacometrics (ISoP).

UB APhA-ASP chapter earns regional leadership role and awards at Midyear Regional Meeting
The UB SPPS chapter of the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) earned a regional leadership role and awards at the APhA-ASP Midyear Regional Meeting in Bristol, CT.

View upcoming events on the UB Events Calendar!

Thank you for reading our November 2022 edition of the Buffalo Pharmacy Bulletin. Please stay in touch! Send us updates on your own personal and professional accomplishments by filling out our alumni update form. 

Regards,
Gary Pollack, PhD '84
Dean and Professor