The Research Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Grace Kuo, Pharm.D., MPH, as Director of the ACCP Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN). Dr. Kuo is Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences; she is also a member of the University of California–San Diego (UCSD) Health Services Research Center. At UCSD, Dr. Kuo is conducting several practice-based research projects with the Medical Group, Internal Medicine, and Family Medicine clinics. She collaborates with the Health Services Research Center and the Center for Management Science in Health on campus. Since 2007, Dr. Kuo has been collaborating with pharmacist practitioners and researchers to form a pharmacist-based practice-based research network in San Diego. Network practitioners work in inpatient and outpatient pharmacies from community and institutional settings.
Before joining UCSD, Grace was Program Director for a physician-based practice-based research network, the Southern Primary-care Urban Research Network, from 2001 to 2007. Dr. Kuo served as principal investigator, co-investigator, and consultant on Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)-, National Institutes of Health (NIH)-, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded projects.
Dr. Kuo has been a member of ACCP since 1997 and is an active member of the Ambulatory Care PRN. She has been a speaker on PBRN and clinical research topics at several ACCP national and spring forum meetings. Regarding the new ACCP PBRN, Dr Kuo stated:
I applaud the efforts of the Boards of ACCP in envisioning and supporting the national PBRN. Other health care professionals—including physicians, dentists, and nurses—have been engaged in organized PBRN research on the national level for many years. I truly believe the contribution of clinical pharmacist and pharmacist researchers through the national PBRN will help redesign our health care system and improve the quality and safety of patient care.
Dr. Kuo received her undergraduate degree in psychobiology at UCLA. She completed her pharmacy degrees at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Oregon State University/Oregon Health Sciences University. Dr. Kuo completed postdoctoral training at the W.G. Magnuson Clinical Center at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland. She holds a master’s of public health degree in health promotion and health education from the University of Texas–Houston School of Public Health; currently, she is completing her Ph.D. training in health services research.
Dr. Kuo’s research includes medication safety, practice-based health services research, and chronic disease management. Currently, she and her investigative teams are conducting the following studies: “The Effect of Electronic Medical Records on Medication Safety” (funded by AHRQ R03 HS14406); “Effects of Literacy on Medication Safety in the Elderly” (funded by NIA/NIH R03 AG026420); “Safe Use of Medications in Primary Care Practices” (funded by AHRQ K08 HS014552); and “Pharmacogenomics Education Program: Bridging the Gap Between Science and Practice” (funded by CDC U38GD00007).
Dr. Kuo began her part-time appointment with the Research Institute on January 1, 2009. The ACCP PBRN is expected to launch the online registry for both existing PBRNs and individual clinical pharmacists in early 2009.