AU MEDS^™

Kenneth N. Barker, PhD, RPh - Dr. Barker is the primary catalyst and co-inventor of AU MEDS. Currently he is Director of the Center for Pharmacy Operations Design at Auburn University. He holds BS, MS, Residency in Hospital Pharmacy, University of Florida; PhD, Health Care Administration, University of Mississippi, 1971. Dr. Barker's research interests include hospital medication systems, pharmacy design facilities, automation and robotics, job analysis, and organizational and administrative research. Generally credited with the development of the unit dose concept in drug distribution, Dr. Barker is listed in Who's Who in America and has received numerous national awards for his research in hospital pharmacy. Dr. Barker has written three books, published 72 papers and attracted over $10 million in grants and contracts to support his research. His research and subsequent publication on the subjects of pharmacy design, workflow and  medication errors is extensive.  Dr. Barker is a member of the Graduate Faculty at Auburn University.

Members:

Kenneth R. Baker, BS Pharm, JD - Mr. Baker is a pharmacist and an attorney. Following graduation from Purdue University, School of Pharmacy, Mr. Baker practiced in independent and chain pharmacies and managed a pharmacy in Indianapolis, Indiana. In addition to retail practice, he was a medical sales representative for a major pharmaceutical manufacturer for three years. Upon graduation from Law School (Cum Laude, 1975), Mr. Baker entered law practice in Lebanon, Indiana, where he practiced general trial law. He was a deputy prosecuting attorney in Boone County, Indiana, and later helped form the Lebanon law firm of Giddings, Whitstit, Baker & McClure, where he was a senior partner. Mr. Baker practiced law thirteen years before joining Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company (then Druggists Mutual) in 1988 as General Counsel. In 1990, Mr. Baker was promoted to Vice President, General Counsel of Pharmacists Mutual. In addition to his other duties at Pharmacists Mutual, Mr. Baker lectures widely on pharmacy liability issues and pharmacy malpractice as well as pharmacy risk management. He is past president of the American Society for Pharmacy Law; served on USP Strategic Review Committee on Health Care Reform; writes a regular column in Drug Store News for the Pharmacist; is listed in Who’s Who in American Business. Mr. Baker’s legal treatise "The OBRA 90 Mandate and its Developing Impact on the Pharmacist’s Standard of Care" was published in the Drake University Law School 1996 Drake Law Review.

Toby Clark, MSc, FASHP - After completing his Master of Science Degree from Wayne State University, Mr. Clark has had an active career, both with hospital pharmacies and as an educator. He is former Director of Hospital Pharmacy Services and Clinical Assistant Professor in the College of Pharmacy at The University of Illinois, Chicago. Currently, Mr. Clark is adjunct clinical Associate Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy.

Mr. Clark is a registered pharmacist in Ohio, Michigan, and Texas. He has served as a media consultant for NBC, as well as a consultant for a number of healthcare organizations. In June 2003, Mr. Clark was honored with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacy’s Donald E. Francke Medal for his contributions to international pharmacy.

Mr. Clark is also founder and President of Toby Clark Associates, a pharmacy management consulting firm.

Ginette A. Pepper, PhD, RN, FAAN - Dr. Ginette Pepper is a Professor at the University of Utah College of Nursing where she teaches gerontology, pharmacology, and research. The nation's first geriatric nurse practitioner, Dr. Pepper holds the Helen Lowe Bamberger Colby Presidential Endowed Chair in Gerontological Nursing. She is trained as a nurse pharmacologist with a focus in geriatrics. Dr. Pepper is recognized nationally and internationally as an expert in patient safety and a frequent lecturer in drug therapy for advanced practice nurses. Dr. Pepper's program of research is focused on patient safety, specifically adverse drug effects on the functional status of elderly adults and medication administration safety. The overall goal of her scholarship is to prevent or ameliorate harm resulting from pharmacologic interventions. As a nurse pharmacologist, her focus is nursing and system interventions that promote appropriate and safe use of medications. Topics of investigation have been medication-related falls in elderly adults, how nurses working conditions affect medication administration accuracy and adverse event prevention, pain management in nursing homes, safety culture, error reporting, antibiotic resistance, pressure ulcer prevention, and prescribing by advance practice nurses.