Barbara J. Exum, Pharm.D.
Director of the Center for Compounding Practice and Research and Associate Professor
Department of Pharmaceutics
Barbara Jones Exum, Pharm.D., is an associate professor and director of the Center for Compounding Practice and Research (CCPR) for Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy since its inception in 2016. Immediately prior, she was senior vice president of clinical services of BioScrip, Inc., a publicly traded home infusion therapy company. Exum advised and collaborated with C-level leadership assuring sterile and nonsterile compounding compliance of over 65 infusion pharmacies located throughout the United States. While overseeing compliance, Exum aligned USP General Chapters compounding standards with best demonstrated clinical practices. This resulted in positive influences on practice standards, sterile compounding regulations, specialty pharmacy practice guidelines, pharmacy education and training as well as quality management.
Exum has specialized in the sterile compounding business for almost 40 years. In 1986, she opened the first home infusion program for Virginia Commonwealth University Health-System. During the following years, Exum managed operations, sales, marketing, strategic expansions, and the build-outs for HomeChoice Partners home infusion pharmacies (partnership).
Today, Exum is responsible for directing the overall development of the center’s teaching and research enterprise; continuing education coordination, the exploration and implementation of entrepreneurial initiatives, and providing sterile compounding didactic and hands-on training to students in the School of Pharmacy. Her focus is to advance the safe and effective use of compounded preparations in drug therapy through sterile compounding training in Pharm.D. programs, certificate and continuing education programs, service and research.
In her role as director of the Center for Compounding Practice and Research, she developed and currently trains pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals several times a year in a three-day sterile compounding nonhazardous and hazardous continuing education program based on United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Compounding Chapters, <797> and <800>.
Also, Exum worked closely with the Virginia Department of Education directing their pharmacy technician programs as they prepared for ASHP accreditation. Currently, she sponsors annual symposiums for their pharmacy technician training instructors which allows them to continuously update their course content to meet the needs of the pharmacy profession. Annually, during the spring semester, Exum hosts a “High School Compounding Workshop” available for all VDOE pharmacy technician training programs to bring their students to participate. The workshop includes training in nonsterile and sterile compounding, pharmaceutical calculations, and professionalism. "