Paul Macdowell
Contact:
pmacdowell@ucdavis.edu

Titles:
Senior Pharmacist, UC Davis Health, Medication Safety

Education:
PharmD., South University, Savannah, GA, 2009.

Research Interests:
Infusion pump drug library design and compliance, Human factors engineering in medication use process, quality improvement surrounding glycemic management.

Practice Philosophy:
My goal is continuous improvement of medication safety across the spectrum of patient care.  Collaboration with a multidisciplinary team and communication is central to this goal.  Much like the variety of people involved, my tools for improvement are varied and include the likes of education, system design, and new technology.  I bring these tools and my detailed knowledge of the medication use process to review of health system reported errors and near misses.  I seek to share and publicize these improvements and knowledge to nursing and pharmacy teams on a regular basis.  Additionally, I enjoy sharing and collaborating with other institutions, so that the larger pharmacy community may benefit.  Likewise, I think there is much to learn from what other intuitions have reported or published, and I seek to proactively optimize local processes.

Rotations Precepted:

  • Medication Safety (PGY1)
  • Medication Safety Operations Longitudinal (PGY2)
  • Medication Safety Staffing: Managing Safe Systems (PGY2)

Bio:
Dr. Paul MacDowell began working in as a clinical pharmacist in a critical access hospital following graduation from South University.  In his early practice within the Indian Health Service (IHS), Dr. MacDowell split his time between the inpatient and outpatient clinical practice environments.  During this time, he became interested in smart infusion devices and drug library design and held this responsibility as well.  While working for IHS, Dr. MacDowell served as Clinical Instructor for the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy.  Dr. MacDowell achieved board certification as a pharmacotherapy specialist in 2013.

After practicing in the federal government at both IHS and Veteran’s Administration, Paul accepted a position with UC Davis Health in 2016 to advance his inpatient pharmacy practice.  Dr. MacDowell quickly developed an interest in medication safety and systems improvement, and in 2018, he accepted a full-time position within UC Davis Health medication safety.  In 2020, Paul was promoted to senior pharmacist.

Dr. MacDowell is passionate about improving medication safety for all members of the health care team.  He is engaged in several multidisciplinary committees and provides teaching to nursing colleagues regarding safe medication practice.  Dr. MacDowell continues to have a strong interest smart pump programming and has a central role in design and maintenance of the infusion pump drug libraries used by UC Davis Health. In addition, Paul is committed to continuous improvement of the medication use process by leveraging reported events and published best practices.

As part of his commitment to optimizing the med use process, Paul achieved Epic Willow certification in 2020.  Dr. MacDowell enjoys sharing his in-depth knowledge of medication technologies with PGY1 and PGY2 residents and providing unique pharmacy experience.