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Welcome to the Program on Medicines and Public Health within the Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Southern California. Our program focuses on the development and expansion of several research initiatives focusing on access to medications, drug utilization and pharmaceutical policy.

We conduct innovative drug utilization and pharmacoepidemiology research to better understand the underlying mechanisms responsible for the use, underuse, and unsafe use of medications, how these patterns may influence health outcomes and health disparities, and what can be done from a community and policy perspective to address these growing public health problems. 

Our mission is to improve equitable access and safe use of essential medicines in the U.S. and globally. The Program will develop and lead interdisciplinary research efforts focusing on drug utilization, access to medicines, and pharmaceutical policy to better understand why medications are used, or not used, and how they can and should be used in the population to promote equity, longevity, and good health.

Our goal is to improve our understanding of the role of medicines in public health and health equity and to promote public accountability to better ensure access to, and safe use of, medications at the national, state, and local levels. In an effort to achieve these goals, we often incorporate the health and human rights concept of ‘essential medicines’ in our research and programming.  

 

 

Recent Insights:

Jenny Guadamuz, Dima Qato, and their coauthors (2021) found that as of 2020, pharmacies in Black and Latino neighborhoods were more likely to close and less likely to offer immunizations, 24-hour, and drive-through services than pharmacies in other neighborhoods. Read the publication in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association here.

In these visualizations, Guadamuz and co-authors (2021) explore trends and disparities in access to pharmacies across Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston communities based on their racial or ethnic composition from 2015 to 2020. Guadamuz et al. hypothesized that disparities in the availability and access to pharmacies would be associated with racial or ethnic segregation, with fewer pharmacies being located in segregated minority communities. Explore these visualizations, created by PMPH staff, Andrew S., to find out more!

Source: Guadamuz et al. (2021). Visualizations were created by PMPH staff, Andrew S., based on study data.

In another recent publication, Jenny Guadamuz, Dima Qato, and their coauthors (2021) found that ‘pharmacy deserts’ disproportionately affect Black and Latino residents in many of the largest U.S cities. Read the publication in Health Affairs here. Find the press release here, and the USC Schaeffer Center coverage here. Additional coverage was also broadcasted on Fox News Los Angeles affiliate KTTV-TV and Spectrum News 1.

A Podcast discussion with lead author, Dr. Guadamuz, on the study investigating accessibility of pharmacies by neighborhood type in large US cities from 2007 to 2015. Listen to the Health Affairs Podcast with Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil:

Recent News:

  • Post-Roe, States With Abortion Bans Saw Steep Declines in Birth Control Prescriptions
    Post-Roe, States With Abortion Bans Saw Steep Declines in Birth Control Prescriptions Published on 9/26/2024 by Carrie N. Baker in Ms. The June 2022 Supreme Court decision eliminating the constitutional right to abortion was followed by steep declines in prescriptions for birth control pills and emergency contraception in states where abortion is banned. This finding…
  • Emergency Contraception Fills in Massachusetts Spiked After This Policy Change
    Emergency Contraception Fills in Massachusetts Spiked After This Policy Change Published on 8.14.2024 by Elizabeth Nolan Brown on Reason Between August 2022 and October 2023, the number of people filling emergency contraception prescriptions in Massachusetts spiked. Was the state experiencing an epidemic of unprotected sex? Probably not. Researchers attribute the increase to the state making it…
  • Protecting yourself from the painful shingles virus may also protect cardiovascular health
    Story by Michael Merschel, American Heart Association News, Aug 12, 2024 Protecting yourself from the painful shingles virus may also protect cardiovascular health About 1 in 3 people in the U.S. will have shingles in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Shingles affects only people who have been previously exposed to…
  • Access is unequal to weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy: study
    Tina Reed on Axios Access is unequal to weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy: study Prescriptions for blockbuster drugs that treat diabetes, obesity and heart disease are soaring, but the mix of payers shows access to the drugs is far from equitable, per a study published in JAMA Health Forum. The USC-led study found a 442%…
  • Who gets Ozempic? People with private insurance and generous health plans, study shows
    Published on Aug 7, 2024 by Sara Chernikoff, USA TODAY The demand for popular prescription drugs that treat diabetes, obesity and heart disease has skyrocketed over the past few years. New research from the University of Southern California showed a 442% increase in prescriptions for semaglutide between January 2021 and December 2023. Semaglutide is the…

 

Recent Events:

  • Dima M. Qato, PharmD, MPH, PhD will deliver an invited talk at the APhA Annual Meeting on Sunday, March 24, “The Problem of Pharmacy Deserts: Health Equity Implications and Potential Solutions.”
  • Dima Qato, PharmD, MPH, PhD will present “Pharmacy Deserts and Disparities in Pharmacy Access to PrEP in Black/Latinx Neighborhoods,” UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) INSIGHTS lecture series, Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 11 am.
  • Dima M. Qato, PharmD, MPH, PhD is quoted in an AARP article on foods that don’t mix with prescription drugs.
  • A panel discussion featuring Dima M. Qato, PharmD, MPH, PhD, “Innovative Approaches & Sustainable Strategies,” presented during a Sept. 12 virtual workshop on supply chain disruptions organized by the National Academies’ Science and Technology for Resilience Program, was highlighted in a new summary publication by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
  • Dr. Dima Qato served as a panelist for Innovative Approaches & Sustainable Strategies session at the Supply Chain Disruptions: Impacts on Vulnerable Communities workshop (Sep 12, 2023) conducted by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine