UBC's Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences has established the Initiative for Sustainable Health Care, a partnership between industry, government and academia.
Eleven founding industry partners and members have provided $2.4-million, in part to fund the Professorship in Sustainable Health Care. Asst. Prof. Mark Harrison has been named recipient of the professorship.
Media are invited to an event to introduce Harrison and the industry partners on Wednesday, January 21, 10 to 11:30 a.m., Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, ground floor commons, 2405 Wesbrook Mall, UBC Vancouver.
Creation of the professorship is part of an evolution in pharmaceutical sciences that will help provide the evidence base to support the delivery of effective and cost-efficient health care services in British Columbia and beyond, says Prof. Michael Coughtrie, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
"With increasing demands on our health-care system, it is vital that we integrate our efforts to improve how we deliver that care," says Coughtrie.
"The Initiative for Sustainable Health Care will provide a neutral voice, and an opportunity for continuing dialogue and research on the economic principles of health-care sustainability," says Harrison. "It will focus on the role of pharmacists and pharmaceuticals in effecting meaningful change."
Founding partners and members of the Initiative include: Amgen Canada Inc.; AstraZeneca Canada Inc.; Eli Lilly Canada Inc.; GlaxoSmithKline Inc.; Merck Canada Inc.; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc.; Pfizer Canada Incorporated; Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.; Hoffman-La Roche Ltd.; LifeScan Canada Ltd.; and Lundbeck Canada Inc.
As part of the initiative, the Sustainable Health Care Advisory Council, comprised of academic, industry and government representatives, will advise and act as a resource. Coughtrie chairs the council.
Funding for the Initiative for Sustainable Health Care forms part of UBC's start an evolution campaign, the most ambitious fundraising and alumni engagement campaign in Canadian history.
Background
The Initiative for Sustainable Health Care
The Initiative for Sustainable Health Care is housed in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia. Its mission is to provide a neutral, balancing voice and opportunities for dialogue and research on economic principles of health care sustainability, with a focus on the role of pharmacists and pharmaceuticals in effecting change.
The Professorship in Sustainable Health Care
Asst. Prof. Mark Harrison's role in leading the Initiative for Sustainable Health Care:
- Building relationships with industry, government and academia to define and collect information and create opportunities for discussion
- Liaising with researchers within the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences to develop new research in health outcomes, economics and policy
- Educating pharmacy students as leaders prepared to have a voice in decision-making for access to beneficial medications for their patients
- Ensuring that accurate and appropriate information for informed, evidence-based decision making is conveyed to a broad audience including policy makers, politicians, public servants, health-care professionals and students
- Acting as a public resource to ensure that neutral information and accurate evidence is made available for an informed public debate
Mark Harrison
Mark Harrison holds a first-class honours degree in Business and Management Sciences from the University of Bradford, U.K., master's degree in Epidemiology from the University of Edinburgh, and PhD from the University of Manchester. He began his research career with the Arthritis Research U.K. Epidemiology Unit at the University of Manchester in 2002, focusing on the variation in service provision and treatment outcomes in people with rheumatoid arthritis, drug safety and the evaluation of treatment strategies. Following award of his PhD, Harrison worked at the Manchester Centre for Health Economics at the University of Manchester on a range of projects with academic, governmental, and industry partners, and was an adviser for the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Research Design Service for North West England.
About start an evolution
UBC's start an evolution campaign is the most ambitious fundraising and alumni engagement campaign in Canadian history with the twin goals of raising $1.5 billion and involving 55,000 alumni annually in the life of the university by 2015.