About Colleen Barker Pharmacist

Colleen Barker of Northampton, PA, is a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) and Registered Pharmacist (RPh) who completed her undergrad studies at Indiana Wesleyan University, a prominent Christ-centered academic institution. She is an expert in medical information management and writing, which demands a high degree of collaboration with other disciplines, including legal, government regulatory, and healthcare marketing. 

Barker is also a skilled Pharmacy Informaticist, a role in which she applies information technology (IT) to optimize processes used in the documentation, management, and delivery of patient pharmaceuticals. Colleen Barker’s pharmacist training allows her to be a liaison between patients and healthcare providers to optimize medication dosage and use. She always puts patient safety at the forefront of operations and, when necessary, reviews prescriptions for potential drug interactions to minimize the risk of adverse reactions.

As a testament to her commitment to patient safety and good corporate governance, Barker was presented with the President’s Club award on her 6th anniversary working for TEVA Pharmaceuticals, NA. This award is given annually to under 100 TEVA professionals in the North American division for exceptional contribution and performance. Most notable has been Colleen’s ability to adapt and work in various therapeutic areas over her career, including respiratory, oncology, rare disease, hematology, and neurology.

Education

Colleen Barker is a Northampton Senior High graduate who excelled in the classroom. Her Scottish and Irish heritage ingrained in her a strong work ethic, reliability, and initiative. She graduated in the top 10% of her high school class and obtained National Honors Society recognition for her outstanding academic achievement.

In 1994, Colleen was accepted at Indiana Wesleyan University, where she was listed on the Dean’s List all 8 semesters and graduated with Honors-Magna Cum Laude. She obtained dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biology and Psychology while also being awarded the National Psychology Student Honors Award. With a keen interest in medical science, Barker decided to continue her education and began studies at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. 

Barker obtained her Doctorate of Pharmacy – PharmD in 2005. Most notable is that she was on the Dean’s List all 8 semesters here also, and graduated with Magna Cum Laude status and membership in the Rho Chi National Pharmacy Honors Society.    

Colleen Barker, Pharmacist Career

Barker began her career as a Pharmacy Intern in 2002 at Lehigh Valley Hospital in Pennsylvania and later at CVS Pharmacy. Her role with both internships entailed preparing intravenous medications and managing the automated prescription dispensing cabinet. This position opened the door for a more prominent role at CVS Pharmacy, where she was hired as a staff pharmacist in 2005. Here, she supervised, monitored, and scheduled over 15 technicians in a busy 4000 script weekly store.

Colleen became proficient at dispensing pharmaceuticals and gained intimate knowledge of insurance carriers, regulations, authorization processes, and the process for rejecting claims, especially when it came to narcotic prescriptions. She also recruited and trained new technicians and acted as a preceptor to oversee pharmacy student interns. As a licensed pharmacist, Colleen Barker adhered to the strict ethics of professional competence, patient autonomy, and accurate medication dispensing.

In 2010, Barker joined Telex-Merck & Co., working as a Medical Team Member at their National Service Center. In this critical position, she was responsible for providing premier service on inquiries for Merck pharmaceutical products and documenting and processing adverse events. Barker was also exposed to the Medical Writing industry in this position, as she maintained an extensive knowledge base of all Merck pharmaceuticals prescribing information and the documentation of “off-label” medical and scientific product information. 

Career as Medical Information Specialist

Colleen Barker of Northampton, PA, began her Medical Information Specialist career as a manager for Bristol Myers Squibb, where she provided product information support within the Medical Information Contact Center with a therapeutic area focus on Immunology, Oncology, and Neuroscience. For over a decade, she increased her knowledge and experience in roles that demanded oversight for large pharmaceutical firms, including Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

She decided to take on a more scientific role at Merck & Co., Inc., working within their NewAge Systems Division as a Senior Scientific Specialist. In this highly specialized position, she was responsible for developing and maintaining high-quality customer-focused scientific information in response to healthcare professionals’ unsolicited information requests (PIRs). Barker ensured the scientific accuracy and integrity of promotional and informational materials from global subsidiaries while ensuring compliance with current corporate policies and procedures as a reviewer and approver of material.

Currently, Barker is a Senior Manager of Medical Information-Respiratory/Oncology at TEVA Pharmaceuticals, NA., where she collaborates with key members of internal departments, including legal, regulatory affairs, marketing, and sales, to provide medical support for development, implementation, maintenance, and enhancement of ongoing medically-related activities. She not only maintains a library of standard medical response documents, but she has also authored many healthcare documents and promotional materials.

Personal Life

Colleen Barker’s career as a pharmacist has also affected her emotionally. She lost her mother to leukemia when she was 30. Since then, she has been a passionate advocate for cancer research, hoping to increase the research and development of medications to cure or manage the disease. Although Colleen holds a corporate position, she is still a country girl at heart. She enjoys overnight camping or a simple backyard campfire with her 19-year-old son and friends in the summer.

Barker is a car enthusiast who enjoys dirt track car races, antique car shows, and truck and tractor pulls. She absolutely loves music and has been singing her whole life. Colleen has performed for family and friends at six weddings, three baptisms, and two military events. She is a member of her church’s praise and worship team and has been a vocalist in many groups throughout high school and college.