Celebrating American Pharmacists Month: Dr. Rachel O’Koren | Pharmacy Heroes
For American Pharmacists Month, UIC College of Pharmacy is celebrating some of its pharmacy heroes for their contributions to the profession and for the care they provide, especially in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The first American Pharmacists Month spotlight is Dr. Rachel O'Koren (PharmD '02), Director of the Office of Clinical Integrity at Walgreens. While working on her bachelor’s degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dr. O'Koren decided to attend the UIC College of Pharmacy because of its highly acclaimed Doctor of Pharmacy program, its location and its diverse patient population.
After graduating with her PharmD, Dr. O'Koren did a combined ambulatory care and managed care pharmacy practice residency at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan – near her hometown. "I was actively involved in AMCP in pharmacy school, so I really wanted an experience that had a business angle, but I also wanted additional training in direct patient care, so I found a program that had a bit of both," says Dr. O'Koren. Once she completed her residency, she started her career at Walgreens in their PBM support center, creating clinical programs for specialty pharmacy. In 2004, Dr. O'Koren led the development of the Walgreens Immunization Program, which was adopted nationally after a successful pilot program. "It was a lot of fun and a lot of work,” recalls Dr. O’Koren. Her hard work has blossomed into thousands of immunization-trained pharmacists and over 9 million vaccines administered annually at Walgreens.
Dr. O’Koren reflects on the impact of her work. "I’m grateful that I get to create programs to help other pharmacists provide clinical services for their patients. It's rewarding to see these programs come to life and to see pharmacists delivering those services in their own communities.”
For student pharmacists, Dr. O’Koren advises that you "continue to be curious and do not be afraid to try new things -- you can play a big role, so stay curious and open to opportunity.”
Her most recent accomplishment was co-developing the Walgreens COVID-19 testing program, which was established in April of 2020. Walgreens opened COVID-19 testing locations in 49 states and Puerto Rico to help meet the growing need for testing in communities nationwide. To date, they have administered 1 million COVID-19 tests, which have helped improve case count accuracy and have also helped slow the spread of the virus. Dr. O’Koren is proud of the work she and her colleagues have done to help people during this difficult time. "Pharmacists have an opportunity to lead the way in protecting the public. It is a really rewarding career.”