When Fumiko Chino’s young husband died of neuroendocrine carcinoma, she was left with hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical debt for bills that his student insurance didn’t cover. She is now a radiation oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center who studies the impact of financial strain on cancer patients.
She will present the keynote address, "Financial Toxicity in America," at Pitt’s third annual Pharmacoequity Conference on May 3.
The word “pharmacoequity” refers to a health system in which all patients have access to the highest quality, evidence-based medications, regardless of race, ethnicity or social standing.
Utibe Essien, a former assistant professor of medicine and a faculty affiliate of Pitt’s Center for Pharmaceutical Policy and Prescribing (CP3), coined the term a few years ago to emphasize the central importance of health equity. CP3 made pharmacoequity one of its core missions and, in 2022, began holding events to promote it.
This year, the center is hosting its third annual conference for professionals and students interested in advancing pharmacoequity. This free conference will showcase the breadth of pharmacoequity research and policy work at the University of Pittsburgh and nationwide, as well as efforts to reduce health care and access disparities. Essien, now at UCLA, and CP3 Director Walid Gellad, professor of medicine, School of Medicine, and of health policy and management, School of Public Health, will give opening remarks at the conference.
The program reinforces the interdisciplinary strengths of Pitt’s schools of the health sciences by pulling together health care experts from various fields including pharmacy, medicine and public health.
The conference will run from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 3 at the University Club and via Zoom for those unable to attend in person.
Registration link: https://calendar.pitt.edu/event/3rd_annual_pharmacoequity_conference
Conference website: https://www.cp3.pitt.edu/events/pharmacoequity-conference