Published on March 25, 2020 by Sarah Waller  
pharmacy alumni crocker and nosser

“During this time, when patients are hesitant to see their provider, these services are helping put patients at ease while enabling the prescribers to still care for their patients.”

McWhorter School of Pharmacy alumnus Austin Crocker ’17 works as a clinical pharmacist for G&M Pharmacy in Oxford, Mississippi. In his role, he partners with local prescribers to provide preventative services for patients—work that has become even more critical during this global pandemic as hospitals and health systems are inundated.

The two pharmacy services, Crocker explains, that have proven to be extremely valuable are: chronic care management and remote patient monitoring.

“We, as pharmacists, contact the prescribers' patients at least once a month to check in on them to discuss their medications and medical conditions,” he said.

Remote patient monitoring takes patient care a step further. “Patients are given blood pressure cuffs that transmit the readings to us at the clinic automatically,” Crocker said. “This enables us to follow the patients more closely to identify troublesome trends and make an intervention before an adverse health event occurs.”

Joseph Nosser ’19 is working alongside Crocker as a PGY1 community pharmacy resident, assisting him with these services.

The outside of G&M Pharmacy in Oxford, Mississippi

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.