About Our Personal Pharmacist
Hello, my name is Kara White, owner of Our Personal Pharmacist. I am a licensed pharmacist, certified in Geriatric Pharmacy and Medication Therapy Management.
I’ve been a pharmacist since 1986. In more recent years, I’ve had to provide care for my aging loved ones. In the process, I’ve discovered a huge need – so many other caregivers are in the same situation as I. The difference is, they (you) don’t have the medical background you know would be so valuable to assisting your loved ones.
I have been there:
- I am a daughter responsible for my loved one’s well-being.
- My husband and I took care of our aging parents for several years while working full-time, demanding jobs and balancing the needs and joys of raising our dependent children.
- I lived in a city 600 miles from my mother.
- I have spent time in physician offices, hospitals, and long-term care environments advocating of our loved ones.
- I am a clinical pharmacist with a familiarity of the healthcare world and language spoken within that environment.
- I began my career in long-term care as a pharmacist consultant reviewing patient’s charts for drug interactions, medication appropriateness, side effects, and proper dosing.
- Consulting in the nursing home environment is a “too little, too late” scenario. We need to provide this type of service while people are relatively healthy and living independently to empower these individuals to gain control of their healthcare and remain healthy and independent.
- Merging my experiences with our parents and revelations noted during my career, I feel I have found my life’s calling by becoming a personal pharmacist.
- I believe an informed, patient advocate is critical to allowing us to age with grace. As medications are responsible for up to 28% of hospital admissions in the elderly, having a pharmacist as your advocator is extremely valuable in reducing your chances of becoming one of these statistics.