WASHINGTON, DC – Calvin H. Knowlton, BSPharm, MDiv, PhD, of Moorestown, NJ, is the recipient of the 2015 Remington Honor Medal, the highest honor bestowed by the American Pharmacists Association (APhA). Knowlton was selected in recognition of the professional achievements, innovations and advancements he has contributed to the pharmacy profession.
Knowlton is currently the founder and CEO of Tabula Rasa HealthCare, Inc., the parent company of CareKinesis, Inc., the tenth company founded in his illustrious career. A few of Knowlton’s professional accomplishments include: founding Hospice Pharmacia/excelleRx, a medication management and distribution company employing over 750 pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and other staff, focused on providing palliative care; tackling medication management for the Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) model of care; and developing a medication risk mitigation model operationalized through EireneRx, a cloud-based system that allows pharmacists to work with health care providers in optimizing drug therapies.
The Remington Honor Medal, named for eminent community pharmacist, manufacturer and educator Joseph P. Remington, was established in 1918 to recognize distinguished service on behalf of American pharmacy during the preceding years, culminating in the past year or during a long period of outstanding activity or fruitful achievement. Knowlton will be officially recognized during the APhA Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego, March 27-30, 2015. The APhA awards and honors program is the most comprehensive recognition program in the profession of pharmacy.
A colleague’s nomination letter stated, “thanks to the “out of the box” thinking of Dr. Knowlton, almost half the Americans who passed away in the last two decades received care from Hospice Pharmacia/excelleRx, reaping the benefits of expert pharmacopalliation. In this practice model, pharmacists work in a transdisciplinary environment with nurses, physicians and other hospice and palliative care practitioners to select drug therapies that optimize clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes. Dr. Knowlton developed a practice model that advanced the role of pharmacists to an unparalleled level, allowing thousands and thousands of patients to reach the end of the road with comfort and dignity. His efforts single-handedly elevated the level of prescribing practices for these incredibly complex patients. Although Dr. Knowlton moved on to other ventures, this company still exists today, using the model Dr. Knowlton developed almost two decades ago.”
Another nominator commented, “If you know Cal at all, then you know about his passion to advance the role of pharmacists in optimizing the care of patients who are at risk of harm from medications; and there is no more vulnerable population than PACE enrollees. Starting with this extremely high-risk group, he is a man on a mission to make a measurable impact on the abysmal epidemic of iatrogenesis in the US (third leading cause of death), of which a large proportion is due to medications. Accomplishing this mission elevates pharmacy as not only a major player in reducing medication misadventures, but also the player with the best tools to do the job.”
Knowlton has won numerous awards for his leadership in pharmacy, business and philanthropy in his career, including the unique distinction of winning both the 2003 and the 2013 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Greater Philadelphia Region. He previously served as President of the American College of Apothecaries, President of the American Pharmacists Association, and President of the American Pharmacists Association Foundation. He currently serves on the Board of the Coriell Institute for Medical Research, the Board of Coriell Life Sciences, the Board of the Evergreens Retirement Communities, and as a founding Board member of the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University. He recently finished his terms on the Board of St Christopher’s Hospital for Children and the Settlement Music School, both in Philadelphia.
Another colleague mentioned, “What catches one’s eye is Cal’s passionate desire to advocate for our patients in the complex health care and medication use systems they face. The desire to do well, by doing good for others, has driven Cal to deliver enormous levels of creative solutions to patient care challenges in some of the most demanding areas of health care. His work in hospice care and care of the frail elderly now are but two examples of his highly innovative work. Other areas which differentiate Cal are his ability to create and embrace change, take the risks necessary to achieve lofty goals and the genius knack to communicate complex ideas and lead others to embrace them.”
Knowlton received his pharmacy degree from Temple University, his Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his PhD in pharmacoeconomics from the University of Maryland. He served as Professor and Department Chair for the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia in the 1990s. He has authored a textbook, various book chapters, numerous articles and has given hundreds of presentations.
About the American Pharmacists Association
The American Pharmacists Association, founded in 1852 as the American Pharmaceutical Association, is a 501 (c)(6) organization, representing more than 62,000 practicing pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists, student pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and others interested in advancing the profession. APhA, dedicated to helping all pharmacists improve medication use and advance patient care, is the first-established and largest association of pharmacists in the United States. For more information, please visit pharmacist.com.