Karen Blumenschein, PharmD

The focus of Dr. Blumenschein's teaching includes the areas of research design, medical literature evaluation and health outcomes assessment. She coordinates "The Evidence Base of Pharmacy Practice" course taken by all second-year students in the UK College of Pharmacy. In addition to didactic teaching, she coordinates the dual PharmD/MPA, PharmD/MPP and PharmD/MBA programs at UK with more than 40 graduates since 1999. Dr. Blumenschein has provided faculty mentoring for a number of student research projects, including two Merck Research Scholars, three AFPE "Gateway to Research" Scholars, and two NACDS Research Scholars. She has served as the University of Kentucky NCPA faculty liaison since 2001 and has been faculty advisor for five NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Business Plan Competition submissions.

Dr. Blumenschein's primary research interest is validity issues associated with non-market valuation methods. Other research interests include incorporating quality of life into health economic evaluations and estimation of the patient-perceived value of community pharmacy services. Her research has received extramural funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the pharmaceutical industry, and various foundations. She is the author of scholarly work in both the economics and pharmacy literature.

Dr. Blumenschein serves as Vice-Chair for the University's Medical Institutional Review Board. Outside the University, she is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Pharmacy Services Corporation Foundation for Education and Research. She has served as a consultant for the U.S. Bureau of Primary Health Care Office of Pharmacy Affairs, the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved, and the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.