How can the safety risks of over-the-counter (OTC) medication for seniors be minimized? And can this occur without increasing the workload of pharmacy staff?

These pressing and potentially life-saving issues will be discussed by presenter Michelle A. Chui, PharmD, PhD, Affiliate Professor, School of Pharmacy, Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor, School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin — Madison, at the University at Buffalo Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) Distinguished Speaker Seminar on Wednesday, March 25.

Presented by the CTSI Workforce Development Core, the seminar, titled “From Convenience to Caution: Redesigning OTC Medication Safety,” will be held at 12 p.m. in room 190 of the Pharmacy Building at the UB South Campus (160 Hayes Road). Register here to attend.

Chui’s research has found that older adults face substantial safety risks from OTC medications, driven by system complexity rather than individual behavior. Her March 25 seminar will highlight Senior Safe, a Human Factors–informed community pharmacy intervention that redesigns the OTC environment to reduce misuse without increasing staff workload. Utilizing participatory design and iterative pilot testing, and guided by the EPIS Framework, the intervention demonstrates immediate and sustained improvements in safer purchasing behaviors, offering a scalable model for real-world implementation and sustainment.

As Chui explained in a 2024 University of Wisconsin — Madison story, “Senior Safe drastically reduced misuse in our test site pharmacies.” The story also shared that pharmacists and technicians were highly satisfied with the intervention: “We found that the conversations they were having with patients were more clinical in nature as opposed to them fielding questions about cost or where to find something, for example.”

Chui’s hope is “that other pharmacies nationwide will use this as an example and institute interventions of their own to improve OTC safety in older adults.”

“Dr. Chui applies human factors and systems engineering to improve patient safety and healthcare delivery,” says David Jacobs, PharmD, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Assistant Director, CTSI Workforce Development Core. “Her implementation science research focuses on understanding healthcare work systems and designing interventions that make medication use safer and more effective in real-world practice.”

CTSI Director Sanjay Sethi, MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, says Chui’s work is an example of how research findings can directly impact community healthcare.

“Dr. Chui’s innovative project points toward new directions in the practice of medicine and in the future of patient care. At the CTSI Distinguished Speaker Seminar, we will have an opportunity to hear first-hand how she identified the focus of her research, designed her important intervention, and brought the results into the community. These are topics of the utmost value to all translational researchers.”

Chui has availability to meet during her visit. To schedule a one-on-one meeting, select “yes” on the registration page for an individual meeting and a CTSI staff member will follow up to reserve a time.

For questions or more information about the March 25 seminar, contact cmp9@buffalo.edu or 716-844-9282.