This year’s Most Influential Pharmacist is Eric Geyer, Pharm.D. Based out of Cleveland, Ohio, Dr. Geyer works for The Centers for Families and Children as a pharmacy director. At his day job, he oversees the operations for five outpatient or community-based pharmacies, plus the operations of pharmacy residents and a clinical team. He’s working to expand services like diabetes education, access to Suboxone prescribing, and Prep for HIV through sliding scale prices and other measures. Previously, Dr. Geyer was a pharmacy manager at Walgreens for five years, and worked for Walmart for nine years in various roles from pharmacy intern to pharmacy manager. 

What makes Dr. Geyer this year’s Most Influential Pharmacist is his work on Facebook, Twitter, and podcast platforms to advocate for patients and pharmacy staff. Here, we speak with the pharmacist about what got him into the field, his work on social media, and what he finds most rewarding in the job.

Why did you become a pharmacist?

My mother is a pharmacist. Seeing the relationship she had with people in the community is a lot of what inspired me to go into pharmacy. I’m an Eagle Scout. I’ve always tried to do right by others and put good karma out in the world. Becoming a pharmacist, and duty to that profession, is a way of doing that.

How did you get your start as a pharmacy influencer?

I started my podcast, Political Pharmacist, because there is always a lot of talk about drug prices, ways to improve care in politics but there is never (or rarely) ever pharmacists speaking up as a voice. It was an obvious need, and I decided to try to step up to help fill it. 

I got involved in the Pharmacy Staff for COVID Support Facebook Group when the founder, Steve Meyer had to step down due to other obligations. I was in the first wave to join the group because we’ve been friends since college. I’ve always been the advocate who was commenting on every post, so I was a natural fit to step in as a moderator. Now, I am one of several moderators, including Jackie Boyle, Carl Palladino, and Alex Barker.

What’s the purpose of the Facebook group?

The Pharmacy Staff for COVID Support Facebook Group began as a way for pharmacists to share information and advocate for protection of community pharmacy staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. This group of nearly 45,000 members is a grassroots effort to speak up and make a difference. It grew rapidly as the need emerged.

If a pharmacy staff member gets sick, and a pharmacy has to close because of it, it creates a huge barrier to healthcare—people can’t get their medication, access refills, or transfer prescriptions. Patients could fall through the cracks. 

For me, it’s about giving a platform to people who are trusted in their communities to share information.

When COVID hit… the group was started as a public service—protecting people within our profession because we know what they go through daily and how much they mean to the communities that they serve, and fighting misinformation are two of the main goals. It’s a team effort to achieve them.

We’ve had a number of calls to action that created real results, from advocating for plexiglass and masking in stores to raising awareness to inappropriate hydroxychloroquine prescribing during the pandemic. Our members have gotten issues brought to offices of state attorneys general and even had articles written about our topics in major outlets like the New York Times. 

For me, it’s about giving a platform to people who are trusted in their communities to share information.

What’s the goal of your podcast?

My podcast is dedicated to being a voice for pharmacists on current healthcare issues that affect our profession, such as drug prices. My goal is to have guests who can make an impact and have a good discussion. For example, I had Georgia State Representative Buddy Carter on the show. Before becoming a public servant, he worked as a pharmacist, and owned Carter’s Pharmacy for 32 years. He came on the show to discuss pharmacy benefit manager reform, provider status, and staffing because he is a pharmacist in addition to being a congressperson. It’s hard for laypeople and even legislators to know how much education pharmacists have, and the scope of our practice. I want to open a dialogue, so people can see both sides of a topic, then use that to help resolve issues. 

What’s the most rewarding part of being a pharmacist?

The most rewarding part is when you can actually physically make a difference for somebody, whether it’s saving them money or it’s using your knowledge to help educate them. It could be explaining something like drug interactions, but a lot of my most rewarding times are when I get to know my patients. As you get to know them, you can find better ways to take care of them by noticing little things about their medications and helping improve diet or side effects.

The biggest thing is to be your own advocate and know your rights. You can ask for help to find the best price.

I always remember one patient who was on HIV medications and was having a really hard time being compliant with them. One of the prescriptions caused a really upset stomach, so I spoke with him about how to take it with food, and what foods to avoid. After that, he didn’t hate taking the medication anymore because it was less uncomfortable. When you can suppress someone’s HIV better, that makes a big difference in their life, and what they can do.

How can pharmacists make a difference?

One of my favorite moments was when another patient taking HIV medication came to me with 24 bottles of his monthly prescription. He was taking his medication every day and didn’t know what to do because a mail order pharmacy just kept sending it to him, as soon as a refill was possible. It was $48,000 worth of medication when you added it all up. We looked at his labs, and he was compliant with his regimen. His viral load numbers were low, meaning his HIV was well-controlled. I connected him with someone who could help, and he reached the Ohio state attorney general. The patient got several thousands of dollars back from the illegitimate claims, and it exposed abuse in the system.

What should patients know about saving money on prescriptions?

The biggest thing is to be your own advocate and know your rights. You can ask for help to find the best price. You can ask for a prescription to be transferred or to receive it via mail order. There are a lot of issues with drug pricing. If you’re in a pinch, or your medication isn’t covered, there are ways to reduce out of pocket costs.

What does this nomination mean to you? 

It’s a big honor. It’s one thing to be recognized for work professionally, but to be recognized from a patient level, it means that you did something right for somebody. That just means a heck of a lot more. It’s good to know you made an impact because you tend to remember the bad. So, when a positive thing comes up like that, it means that much more.