Richard Dang, PharmD, APh, FCPhA is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy (Clinician Educator), Assistant Director of the Residency Programs, and Residency Program Director of the PGY1 and PGY2 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program at the University of Southern California (USC) Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and is Immediate Past President of the California Pharmacists Association (CPhA), Vice Chair of the Immunization Action Coalition of Los Angeles County (ICLAC), and Director-at-Large/Board of Directors of the California Immunization Coalition (CIC).
Dr. Dang’s expertise in immunizations, travel health, and community health programs has led to his role as a leading advocate during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was Chair of the California Pharmacists Association COVID-19 Taskforce and 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, and Adult Workgroup of the Immunization Action Coalition of Los Angeles County (ICLAC). 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 and as a COVID-19/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.
In addition to being California’s first advanced practice pharmacist, 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.
Dr. Dang’s practice sites include the USC 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. 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 coordinates courses in introductory and advanced community pharmacy practice, self-care/non-prescription therapies, and travel medicine. He is a national trainer for the NACDS Community Pharmacy-Based Point-of-Care Testing Certificate program, APhA Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery Certificate program, and the CPhA Advanced Pharmacy Pharmacist Certificate program.
For his work and achievements, Dr. Dang has been recognized with several awards, including: certificate of recognitions as 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.
