Joanne Kowiatek

Joanne Kowiatek is an Oncology Consultant Pharmacist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Hillman Cancer Center, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacy and Therapeutics, at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Pharmacy. Her clinical practice focuses on hematology oncology patients in a hospital-based ambulatory care clinic that is part of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center’s integrated community cancer care network. She has practiced as a staff pharmacist in health system pharmacy at UPMC for 5 years, 19 years in Pharmacy Operations Management, 10 years as Pharmacy Manager of Medication Patient Safety, and the past 7 years as an Oncology Consultant Pharmacist at UPMC’s Hillman Cancer Center.

Kowiatek received her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Masters of Public Management in Health Systems from Carnegie Mellon University, H. John Heinz III, School of Public Policy and Management.

Kowiatek has contributed as a leader, educator, and champion of medication safety during her career in hospital pharmacy practice. She authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters contributing to the medication safety literature, and has received national awards, including the Circle of Excellence in Patient Safety Award, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) Medication Safety Alert! Cheers Subscriber Award, and is an individual recipient of the ISMP Cheers Award. She is a member of the Advisory Board for the Nurse Advise-ERR newsletter.

Kowiatek was recognized as a Fellow of ASHP in 2010 and has been an active member of ASHP for the past 29 years and the Pennsylvania Society of Health System Pharmacists for 39 years. She is a past member of the ASHP Foundation's Award for Excellence in Medication-Use Safety Selection Panel, and served as member then Chair of the ASHP Section of Inpatient Care Practitioners (SICP) Advisory Group on Medication Safety. She then served as a Director-at-Large of the SICP Executive Committee and a member of the SICP Committee on Nominations. Kowiatek served as Program Chair for the Medication Safety Sessions programming for the 2011 ASHP Summer Meeting, was an invited reviewer for ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting proposals, field reviewer for ASHP Advantage CE Programs, and an expert reviewer for the ASHP Guidelines on Preventing Medication Errors in Hospitals.  During her years of pharmacy practice, she has been involved in over 30 ASHP presentations, posters, webinars, and networking sessions.