September 10, 2015
Dr. Gregory Eschenauer is a member of the UMHS Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, a multi-disciplinary team that works to ensure effective and appropriate utilization of antimicrobials for hospitalized patients, reevaluate treatments of common infections, and set best practices.

Dr. Gregory Eschenauer recently joined the College of Pharmacy’s clinical faculty with a shared appointment as Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the U-M College of Pharmacy and a clinical pharmacist in infectious diseases at the University of Michigan Health System (UMHS). Dr. Eschenauer’s path to clinical infectious diseases pharmacy was aided by gentle parental prodding. “I was strongest in math and science in high school. My father, a chemical engineer, thought that engineering was the logical career to pursue,” says Dr. Eschenauer. “My mother recognized the strong job market in pharmacy and encouraged me to consider it. I soon came to terms with my utter deficiency of any sort of ‘engineer’s brain,’ shadowed an independent retail pharmacist, and decided on pharmacy.”

Dr. Eschenauer received his Doctor of Pharmacy from Butler University. He continued his education with pharmacy practice and infectious diseases specialty residencies at UMHS. Since completing his residency, Dr. Eschenauer has served as an infectious diseases clinical pharmacist at Columbia University Medical Center and at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Eschenauer back at U-M,” says Karen Farris, PhD, Charles R. Walgreen III Professor of Pharmacy Administration and Chair, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, and Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health. Dr. Eschenauer lends his expertise to the UMHS Antimicrobial Stewardship Program, a multi-disciplinary team that works to ensure effective and appropriate utilization of antimicrobials for hospitalized patients, reevaluate treatments of common infections, and set best practices. “Dr. Eschenauer is respected by the infectious disease physicians and is leading important efforts in the stewardship program,” continues Dr. Farris. Dr. Eschenauer is actively involved in infectious diseases research, especially in the areas of antifungal pharmacotherapy, antimicrobial stewardship and antibiotic resistance.

“Our ID stewardship team struggles with identifying the most efficient and productive use of our time,” explains Dr. Eschenauer.  “We frequently ask ourselves ‘what are we doing and what impact does it have on patient outcomes’? Clinical pharmacists are no doubt improving patient outcomes, but ‘clinical pharmacy’ is not a singular practice, and different practice models no doubt exert different effects,” continues Dr. Eschenauer. “We are increasingly held accountable to document our impact on care so we need to study the effects of specific interventions and initiatives. In all our efforts, we are working to achieve our tenants of safe, appropriate, and cost-effective antimicrobial therapy to optimize patient outcomes and to minimize the selection of pathogenic microorganisms and the emergence of resistance.” For example, the UMHS antimicrobial stewardship team recently published a study in which a stewardship-driven care bundle for Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia improved adherence with performance measures and decreased readmissions.

Dr. Eschenauer supports the education of the next generation of pharmacists as both a professor and preceptor.  He teaches at the College in the subjects of antifungal pharmacotherapy, clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, HIV/AIDS, and pharmaceutical care skills. 

Dr. Eschenauer is a course co-coordinator for one of the College’s case-based classes, where students evaluate patients that they see in their hospital introductory pharmacy practice experience to identify and prioritize medication problems and develop care plans. Students must critically evaluate the literature to make evidenced-based recommendations in a variety of medical specialties. At UMHS, Dr. Eschenauer is a preceptor for infectious diseases advanced pharmacy practice experiences for students and residents.

“The practice of pharmacy is rapidly evolving, so new pharmacists need to not only be adaptable to change but also be activists for advancement,” notes Dr. Eschenauer. His advice for any pharmacist starting their career: “Do not be hesitant to propose and seek out new and innovative practice opportunities and models. The most important education you receive in your time here is not crude knowledge, but critical thinking and practice skills,” persists Dr. Eschenauer. “Those skills require constant refinement, achieved by continuous challenge, and will enable you to adapt to changes as well as to propose new paths forward.”