THE University of Sydney last Fri awarded the Degree of Doctor of Pharmacy (honoris causa) to pharmacist Edward Crook, for his contributions to pharmacy, innovation and technology.
A ceremony hosted by the university's Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Annamarie Jagose, highlighted his extensive career.
"Mr Crook's innovative mind has led to the development and implementation of computer systems that have shaped the way pharmacy is practised," she said.
"It's an honour to celebrate his foundational contributions and longstanding relationship with our Sydney Pharmacy School."
Crook graduated in pharmacy at the University of Sydney in 1959, starting his career at Sydney's Hallam Pharmacies before moving to Canberra where he owned and operated several pharmacies.
He was ACT President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia in the late 1970s, roles in which he was "celebrated for changing community pharmacy and reshaping the future of healthcare and funding for the sector".
In 1977, Crook and pharmacist Colin Trevena pioneered the development and implementation of computer systems in pharmacy, including automation of the dispensing process alongside medication information and checking of drug interactions.
Their company Chemdata entered a relationship with Amfac and established the national Amfac-Chemdata company in 1984, and in the ensuing 20 years they built a team of over 300 employees and had an 80% market share until the pharmacy software business was purchased by IMS in 1993.
Crook's other achievements include a Citizen Science project to test sunglasses widely sold through the pharmacies, with the experiment identifying significant deficiencies which led to the Australian Standard on Sunglasses amendment.
Crook also helped secure support for developing a database for computer-based herb-drug interaction checking, which is still used today and implemented in the widely used eMIMs software.
Edward Crook is pictured with Professor Andrew McLachlan and Professor Annamarie Jagose from the University of Sydney.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 08 May 23
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 08 May 23
