Richard Dang, PharmD, APh, FCPhA, is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy (clinician-educator) and Assistant Director of the Residency Programs at the University of Southern California (USC) Alfred E Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He is an advanced pharmacist practitioner (APh) with expertise in immunizations, travel health, community-based pharmacy practice, public health, and advocacy. He is Vice President of the California Immunization Coalition (CIC) and is a Past President of the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA). As the Chair of the CPhA Legislative Committee, he has advocated for pharmacist patient care services, standard of care, protections for workplace conditions, and PBM reform. He has also been influential in policy decisions on immunizations at the state and national level.
Service Experience:
Dr. Dang’s expertise has led to his roles as a leading advocate during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. He was Chair of the California Pharmacists Association COVID-19 Taskforce, a member of the USC COVID-19 vaccine planning steering committee, California State Testing Taskforce, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Immunization Branch Pharmacy Taskforce, Adult Workgroup of the Immunization Action Coalition of Los Angeles County (ICLAC), and member of the CDC COVID-19 Vaccine Workgroup as an APhA Liaison. Dr. Dang is also a medical consultant to international travel health and COVID-19 testing and vaccination companies. Dr. Dang has also been featured in numerous media outlets (including the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, NPR, KNX News Radio, ABC7, the Los Angeles Business Journal, and BuzzFeed News) for his work as a COVID-19 and vaccination expert.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Dang played a pivotal role in the response to the public health emergency. Dr. Dang served as the Chair of the California Pharmacists Association COVID-19 Taskforce, where he led the development of standards for workplace precautions, distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE), development of emergency waivers to expand the availability of testing and vaccinations, and training of pharmacists and other healthcare providers. Dr. Dang led the City of Los Angeles COVID-19 Vaccination Program, a partnership with USC School of Pharmacy, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), Carbon Health, and Curative. Through his leadership, the city program launched and managed some of the nation’s first and largest mass vaccination sites (most notably at Dodger Stadium) and mobile vaccination clinics, administering nearly 1.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from December 2020 to December 2021 and 60,000 doses of the influenza vaccine from September 2020 to December 2020.
Practice Experience:
In addition to being California’s first advanced pharmacist practitioner, Dr. Dang is a residency trained, community-based pharmacist in the ambulatory care setting. He completed a postgraduate residency program in community pharmacy practice at USC Mann, where he also received a teaching certificate and his Doctor of Pharmacy, Biological Sciences, and Health Communication degrees. His residency training included providing clinical pharmacy services in community pharmacy and ambulatory care pharmacy-based clinics. He also completed internships at the VA Long Beach Healthcare System, CVS/pharmacy, and Kaiser Permanente.
Teaching Experience:
Dr. Dang’s practice sites include the USC Pharmacy Care and International Travel Health Clinic and the collaborative practice clinics with the Community Pharmacy Patient Care Program at the USC Pharmacies and Keck Medical Center of USC, and previously at the USC Medication Management Center. His practice interests include: medication therapy management (MTM), comprehensive medication management (CMM), community-based pharmacy practice, advanced pharmacy practice, international travel health, immunizations, community health, and disease screening, management, and prevention.
Dr. Dang teaches patient care skills across the PharmD curriculum and coordinates courses in introductory and advanced community pharmacy practice, self-care/non-prescription therapies, and travel medicine. He also trains postgraduate residents in an Academic Pharmacy Learning Experience, including topics in teaching, research, professional development, and leadership. He is a national trainer for the APhA Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery Certificate program, CPhA Advanced Pharmacy Pharmacist Certificate program, and NACDS Community Pharmacy-Based Point-of-Care Testing Certificate program,
Awards and Recognition:
For his work and achievements, Dr. Dang has been recognized with several awards, including: Good Government Pharmacist-of-the-Year Award from APhA, Pharmacy 50 Award from the Pharmacy Podcast Network, Pharmacist of the Year from the California State Legislature, Immunization Champion Award (honorable mention) from the American Pharmacists Association, Outstanding Healthcare Innovator of the Year from Los Angeles Business Journal, Deans Medallion Award from the University of Southern California, Hero of the Week from KNX News and ABC7, Pharmacist of the Year from the San Gabriel Valley Pharmacists Association, and New Distinguished Practitioner of the Year from the California Pharmacists Association.
