What is the Education Working Group?

As members of the Education Working Group of the TI, we have been hard at work for even longer than the TI has been around, trying to disseminate the concepts of evidence-based health care to physicians, pharmacists and the public. We try to keep the information useful, practical and relevant for physicians and pharmacists so that they can incorporate this information into their day-to-day practice. Humour (because evidence can be really dull) plays an important role in our presentations. We are strong advocates of shared-informed decision-making and our sessions try to provide information in a way that you can use it with your patients. Back to the top

What do we do?

One of the main goals of the Therapeutics Initiative is to provide physicians and pharmacists with up to date, evidence based, practical information in the area of rational drug therapy. To that end, Drs. McCormack, Rangno and Virani have had extensive experience, both locally and internationally, talking to health professionals and consumers about the rational use of medication. They have presented over 250 seminars on drug therapy over the last 15-20 years. In addition, they have written numerous articles in the medical literature on the area of rational drug therapy and have been editors for two internationally recognized textbooks on appropriate/rational drug therapy. To find out more about our upcoming Educational Events please click here.

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Who are we?

Dr. Thomas Perry jr, M.D., FRCP

Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, UBC
Clinical Pharmacologist, General Internist, Vancouver Hospital
Chair, Education Working Group, Therapeutics Initiative
Thomas L. Perry graduated from McGill University Medical School in 1978. After a rotating internship at Dalhousie University, he started a residency in general internal medicine at UBC, broken by 2 years of locum tenens general practice in isolated communities in B.C., Yukon, and Ontario. After completing his specialty residency and achieving Fellowship in the Royal College of Physicians of Canada, he spent one year on a Medical Research Council fellowship studying metabolism of tricyclic antidepressants with Dr. Leif Bertilsson at the Karolinska Institute Department of Clinical Pharmacology in Stockholm, and a further 2 years at UBC's Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics. Dr. Perry was then elected to the Legislative Assembly of B.C. where he served as Opposition Health Critic from 1989-1991, as Minister for Advanced Education, Training & Technology from 1991-93, and as a government MLA from 1993-96.
Dr. Perry returned to clinical medicine in 1996 and now practices general internal medicine at UBC Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital. He teaches internal medicine in the Department of Medicine Clinical Teaching Unit program at VGH and clinical pharmacology through seminars, lectures and elective student clinical training at UBCH. His outpatient practice focuses on pharmacological treatment of chronic pain and high blood pressure. He has a special interest in the use of videography to teach students and doctors about drugs. He is the Chair of the Education Working Group, member of the Drug Assessment Working Group, member of the SIEC and participates frequently in the development of TI Letters.
Dr. Perry's other interests include wilderness canoeing and hiking, environmental conservation, peace and social justice, music, reading, and his family.

Conflict of Interest: Dr. Perry has consulted on a paid basis for Greene & Hoffman (attorneys) of Boston, MA, USA as an expert consultant in clinical pharmacology for a proposed class-action lawsuit against Pfizer Inc. with respect to Neurontin (gabapentin), paid on an hourly rate not contingent upon his opinion. Dr. Perry is a frequent clinical pharmacologic medical legal consultant to the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) and to the Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC), and occasionally to other defence or plaintiff laywers in medical legal litigation, paid on an hourly rate, where the rate and payment are not contingent upon his opinion. See TI Conflict of Interest Policy

Dr. Barbara Mintzes, B.Sc., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Dept of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, UBC
Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar
Barbara Mintzes holds a BA in geography from Simon Fraser University and a PhD in health care and epidemiology from the University of British Columbia. She carries out evaluations of drug safety and effectiveness that provide background information for provincial drug financing decisions. She also works as a clinical reviewer with the Common Drug Review.
The focus of her research is pharmaceutical policy, and her main area of expertise is on the effects of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs on prescribing and medicine use. She is also involved in research on the influence of regulatory standards for drug promotion on the quality of information provided. She coordinates a global research project on rational use of medicines with Health Action International, a network of consumer, health and development organizations representing public interests in pharmaceutical policy, and is involved in a collaborative World Health Organization project to develop curriculum for pharmacy and medical students on drug promotion and interactions with the industry. She also works with the Pharmaceutical Policy Unit at UBC’s Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, and is a member of the Steering Group of Women and Health Protection.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

Dr. Aaron Tejani, B.Sc(Pharm), Pharm.D, ACPR

Coordinator, Clinical Research and Drug Information Fraser Health Pharmacy Services Researcher, Drug Assessment Working Group, Therapeutics Initiative
Aaron Tejani completed his BSc in pharmaceutical sciences at the University of British Columbia and his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Creighton University (Omaha, Nebraska). Aaron’s interests include criticall appraisal of the biomedical literature, knowledge translation activities and research, and conducting systematic reviews and meta-analyses of health care interventions. He is also involved in teaching critical appraisal skills to undergraduate and graduate students, as well as health care professionals. He is currently: a member of the Fraser Health Research Ethics Board and the British Columbia Medical Association’s Guidelines and Protocols Advisory Committee, an editor for the Cochrane Hypertension Review Group, a peer reviewer for the Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine, and a clinical instructor for the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences (University of British Columbia). Within the Therapeutics Initiative, he is a member of the Drug Assessment Working Group, the Education Working Group, and the Scientific Information and Education Committee.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

Dr. James M. Wright, M.D., Ph.D., CRCP(C)

Managing Director and Chair, Therapeutics Initiative
Professor, Departments of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics and Medicine, UBC
Clinical Pharmacologist, Vancouver Hospital
Coordinating Editor, Cochrane Hypertension Review Group
James (Jim) Wright is a Professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics and Medicine at the University of BC, Vancouver, Canada. He obtained his MD from the University of Alberta in 1968, his FRCP(C) in Internal Medicine in 1975 and his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from McGill University in 1976. He is a practicing specialist in Internal Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology. He is also Managing Director of the Therapeutics Initiative, Editor-in-Chief of the Therapeutics Letter and Coordinating Editor of the Cochrane Hypertension Review Group. He sits on the Editorial Boards of the following journals: Open Medicine, PLoS One and the Cochrane Library. Dr. Wright's research focuses on issues related to appropriate use of prescription drugs, Clinical Pharmacology, clinical trials, systematic review, meta-analysis and knowledge translation.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

Christopher Adlparvar, B.Sc.

Communications Officer, Therapeutics Initiative, UBC
Christopher Adlparvar has provided new tools for the development of translation and dissemination tools for the Therapeutics Initiative. He developed strategic plans for two start-ups before joining the TI in mid 2006. Since he has focused on helping the TI update its procedures and communication strategies. His roles has been one bring the open and the inclusive nature of the TI to the forefront and the development of new products such as the Drug Assessments Executive Summaries and the Therapeutics Initiative Podcast.
No conflict of interest declared | See TI conflict of interest policy

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