New Pharmacist Hire Brings Senior Regulatory Experience to Online Pharmacy Verification Program
White Plains, New York — April 6, 2016 — PharmacyChecker.com announced today that it has hired Kelly Ann Barnes, JD, RPh, as Vice President of Pharmacy Verification and Information. As an independent, third party verifier of international online pharmacies, PharmacyChecker.com's decision to add Ms. Barnes to the team reinforces its commitment to ensure Americans have access to safe, affordable medications.
Ms. Barnes most recently served as the Director of Pharmacy Quality of Assurance with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality, Board of Registration in Pharmacy. In this position, she monitored regulatory compliance and quality assurance functions as they relate to the licensing and regulation of health professionals and entities licensed by the Board, as well as promulgating regulations for Board consideration.
"The rising costs of prescription medications continue to reduce - and in some cases eliminate - access to affordable medications for many consumers," Barnes said. "I am looking forward to helping these consumers find affordable and safe medication, including by verifying and helping to identify the safest international online pharmacies."
Barnes' experience with and passion for medication safety, quality assurance and consumer advocacy aligns with PharmacyChecker.com's own mission to help consumers find safe and affordable medication. Barnes will oversee the PharmacyChecker Verification Program, monitoring and enforcing compliance with the program's high standards, and enhancing those standards in the evolving marketplace.
"As a registered pharmacist and attorney with senior regulatory experience in pharmacy quality assurance, Kelly's credentials are a perfect complement to our team," said Tod Cooperman, M.D., CEO of PharmacyChecker.com. "Bringing on Kelly further strengthens our commitment to public health by guaranteeing our verification and practice standards meet and even exceed those that currently exist in the industry."
In 2014, 35 million Americans did not fill a prescription due to cost. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, over half of all Americans who do not take prescription medications because of cost report becoming sicker. This means that potentially 17.5 million Americans become sicker each year because they can't afford their prescription medication. As a result, millions of Americans are purchasing their prescribed medications outside of the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that about four million Americans buy more affordable prescription drugs from foreign sources each year.
PharmacyChecker.com (www.PharmacyChecker.com) is the only independent company that verifies U.S. and international online pharmacies and compares prescription drug prices. Its Verification Program evaluates online pharmacies by checking that they meet high standards of practice and continually monitoring them for compliance. It was formed in 2002 when the founder, Tod Cooperman, M.D., saw that increasing numbers of Americans were looking on the Internet to save money on medication but did not have adequate information to protect their health. It is a stakeholder in the online consumer-driven healthcare community, seeking an open Internet environment that promotes innovation and new business models, especially those that serve the public health.
For more information, contact Gabriel Levitt, President, PharmacyChecker.com at 718-387-4526 or gabriel.levitt@pharmacychecker.com.
