Auburn Family Friday Speaker Series continues with talk on battling Alabama’s opioid crisis

Three representatives from Auburn University’s Harrison School of Pharmacy will conclude the Auburn Family Friday Speaker Series with a talk Friday, Nov. 22, at 3 p.m. in the Auburn Alumni Center. Associate Professor Brent Fox, Associate Clinical Professor Haley Phillippe and Assistant Dean of the Harrison School of Pharmacy’s Mobile campus Karen Marlowe will present “Battling the Opioid Crisis in Alabama.”

Fox is a three-time Auburn alumnus. His research includes pharmacy informatics education and the use of health information technology, or HIT, in clinical practices with a focus on the incorporation of pharmacy informatics professionals leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy degree. He also looks at the role of HIT in medication management through the use of mobile devices to support health and wellness. Fox’s overall research goal is to improve medication use and medication-related behaviors by both patients and providers to enable improved medication-related outcomes.

“As an Auburn alum, I truly appreciate the opportunity to discuss our work related to combatting the opioid crisis in Alabama,” said Fox. “As an Auburn faculty member, I believe in our land-grant mission of improving the lives of people in Alabama. I hope our participation in the Friday Speaker Series advances the Auburn Family’s efforts to address the opioid crisis.”

Phillippe, who also serves as a clinical assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, received her Doctor of Pharmacy at Auburn in 2006. Her pharmacy practice residency was completed at Huntsville Hospital in Huntsville, Alabama, where she focused on ambulatory care. She currently focuses on outpatient family medicine and has professional interests in anticoagulation, diabetes, dyslipidemia and hypertension.

“As an Auburn alum and faculty member, it is a great honor to be included in the Auburn Family Friday Speaker Series,” said Phillippe. “I believe Auburn University, a land-grant university, has a special role in providing outreach and education related to the opioid crisis affecting Alabamians. I hope our efforts encourage others to utilize available resources and to have a positive impact on this public health crisis.”

In addition to serving as assistant dean of the Harrison School of Pharmacy’s Mobile campus, Marlowe is also the associate department head in the Department of Pharmacy Practice. She earned her bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy from Auburn. Her areas of specialty include pain management, HIV/opportunistic infections, internal medicine advanced practice experience and clinical pharmacokinetics. Marlowe is the only pharmacist in the state credentialed in pain management by the American Academy of Pain Management and is a certified pain educator. She maintains a consult service and patient advocacy program for patients with terminal illness or chronic pain and provides care for inpatient internal medicine patients.

“Working to educate the citizens of Alabama, both health care providers and lay public, about opioids is crucial,” said Marlowe. “For me it is especially important to make sure that the correct information is out there to ensure that these medications are still available and can be prescribed appropriately for patients who truly need them, like those in hospice and palliative care.”

For more information on this event and other speakers in the series, go to https://ocm.auburn.edu/speaker_series/.