The Samueli Institute, in collaboration with UCI Health, continues to transform care with a new integrative pharmacy at the Irvine flagship location. This state-of-the-art pharmacy will specialize in integrative health supplements, medications, vitamins and IV micronutrient therapies, which are compounded onsite in the sterile compounding room.
A specialized integrative pharmacist was hired following an extensive search. Hung Du, PharmD, MSc, joined the Samueli Institute in January 2023. Du brings a variety of pharmaceutical expertise and a unique perspective with his 10 years of experience in sterile and nonsterile compounding focused on integrative medicine. He has been a pharmacist for 25 years, with professional experience that includes the Food and Drug Administration, pharmaceutical companies and various retail pharmacies.
Student pharmacists at the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences will also have the opportunity to participate in clinical rotations in the new integrative pharmacy. “I’m excited about fulfilling my role as an integrative pharmacist and teaching students,” said Du.
According to Du, “The benefits of an integrative pharmacy include minimizing side effects, taking advantage of healing properties in plants and the ability of the human body to heal itself. When we integrate these natural treatment modalities with current conventional medicine, I believe we can advance medicine to the next level and fulfill the mission of the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute to transform healthcare.”
Melanie Joe, PharmD, founding associate dean for Pharmacy Professional Affairs at the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences and Chief Pharmacy Officer for UCI Health, said, “The development of a pharmacy, capable of providing sterile and non-sterile medicines, and inclusion of a pharmacist specialist to consult with patients and provide health information to integrative health care specialists creates a unique opportunity for learners and demonstrates the commitment of the Samueli Institute to improve care for patients. With this pharmacy, we can guarantee our patients are receiving quality products and accurate, evidenced-informed information about these therapies.”
UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences Founding Dean Jan Hirsch, BS Pharm, PhD, added, “Having this integrative pharmacy provides a unique opportunity for advancing the specialty of integrative pharmacy while training student pharmacists to serve as the medication expert for patients and healthcare teams by advising on benefits and risks of all medications — prescription, over-the-counter, supplements and complementary medications.”
