Gina Upchurch, MPH

Gina Upchurch is the executive director of Senior PharmAssist, which she founded in 1994 as a direct result of her work as a graduate student. Senior PharmAssist helps seniors with limited incomes improve the quality of their lives via medication payment, stream-lining drug regimens and connecting them to the services needed to remain independent. Health insurance literacy is critical and the organization helps Medicare beneficiaries understand and maximize their medical and prescription coverage.

In 2013, Senior PharmAssist was named the Seniors’ Health Insurance Information Program coordinating program of the year in North Carolina. In Durham, Gina and her team are involved with numerous coalitions to help move the dial on social determinants of health. She recently began a project with the Duke Center for Aging focused on dementia care, transitions and medication management. Working with UNC faculty, she has published peer-reviewed journal articles on improving health outcomes and healthcare costs savings.

Teaching Interests

Offering guest lectures in the schools of pharmacy and public health at UNC

Research Activities

Aging
Chronic disease management
Health behavior change
Medication therapy management

Practice Activities

Aging
Chronic disease management
Health behavior change
Health communication
Health equity
Health services and systems
Medical decision making
Medication therapy management

Key Publications

It pays to compare: assisting Medicare Part D beneficiaries with enrollment yields out-of-pocket cost savings. Geonnotti KL, Upchurch G, Roth MT, Weinberger M. (2011). Journal of the American Geriatric Society, 59(5), 953-955.

Education

MPH, Health Behavior and Health Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1993

Geriatric Pharmacy Practice Residency, Program on Aging, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1991

BS, Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1986