PharmD Alumnus, Cornelius Toliver, strives to educate his patients on their condition and medication regime

October 28, 2020

Alumnus: Cornelius Toliver

Program: Doctor of Pharmacy

Undergraduate Institution: North Carolina A&T State University

Where are you currently employed: AdhereRx

Title: Pharmacy Manager

Tell us a little bit about how amazing your current position is and what you do. I am the pharmacy manager for AdhereRX Pharmacy in Cary, NC. It is the position I dreamed of having. I previously worked as a district lead for Walgreens, where I helped start their immunization program. I then began working at an independent pharmacy, collaborating with a primary care and serving patients through the pharmacy.

My career eventually took me to a 100% clinical position, where I taught diabetes education for over 500 patients. I was able to work as a clinical pharmacist practitioner helping manage my patients’ medications, while giving them the necessary tools to gain control of their chronic conditions. AdhereRx is a mail to home pharmacy. We deliver to over 40 states throughout the U.S. What makes AdhereRX special is that we focus on patients who currently take 5 or more medications. My goal as the pharmacy manager has been to bring innovation and care management to all our patients across the United States. This includes starting the first immunization program for AdhereRx, bringing compliance packaging for patients, and implementing care management with a team of diverse pharmacist.

Attending Campbell, was the best decision I ever made. It has made me a better man, father, pharmacist, and friend. I can’t say enough about the university and the faculty.

The sky is the limit with AdhereRX, and I am energized to lead the charge with my team and build more of a care management pharmacy, focused on education of disease states, medications, and nutrition focused for our patients. Compliance packaging is a huge piece of increasing adherence measures, and the overall goal is to collaborate with providers and manage patients as a team. Transition of care is another piece we want to implement. I am honored to be a pharmacist and a proud Campbell graduate. I want to be a champion for our patients, university, and profession. I am proud to say we have several other Campbell pharmacists that work at AdhereRx who share the same passion.

Why did you choose CPHS and what benefits do you believe you gained from attending Campbell? I chose Campbell Pharmacy because of the small town atmosphere, the generosity of the faculty, and the Baptist based religion belief in which I was raised. I felt like I was a part of a family when I was on campus, and I still communicate with a lot of my faculty and classmates!

Please summarize your personal, business, and academic journey, please be sure to include info about underserved, practicum, awards won, promotions, national organization leadership positions, papers published, etc.

Bachelors of Science: North Carolina A&T State University
Lettered 2 years: Collegiate Basketball at North Carolina A&T
CEO: To-Live-Right Medication Management (This business I am starting) Health and Wellness, DSMME (Disease State Medication Management education) focused. Focused on changing the lives of patients.
Pharmacy Manager (AdhereRx Pharmacy) we deliver to 44 states, I hold the pharmacy manager license for 28 of them.
CDE: Certified Diabetes Educator License
CPP: Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner
CNPR: Certified National Association of Pharmaceutical Sales
Awards:
Walgreens District Customer Service Award
Walgreens District Immunization Lead Award
Walgreens Champion Award
Phi Delta Chi Member

Learn More About Campbell Pharmacy

Please summarize any additional accomplishments you would like to highlight: I ran for my district NCBOP position and finished 2^nd in the runoff. I plan to continue to run and be an advocate for our profession. I am passionate about patient care. My big drive is diabetes, considering that is a cornerstone of a lot of other chronic conditions such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia. I have developed a method called the Toliver approach, which I hope to publish one day. I believe in teaching the patient about their disease states in a language they understand. Helping them create goals and determine how to reach them is important. I want to motivate patients to want to live a healthier life.

The Toliver approach focuses on teaching the patient about their medication regimen. What does the medication do to help with what’s happening with their condition? When you educate the patient first on the condition, and then teach them the medication, the patient is more likely to be adherent. That is the Toliver approach. Another goal I have is to write children’s books that focus on chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and hyperlipidemia to name a few. Introducing this at a young age can help kids understand the value of proper nutrition and being physically active.

At Campbell we believe in purposeful lives and meaningful service. What legacy are you leaving? I want to leave a simple legacy: Cornelius Toliver simply loved helping people feel great about themselves and achieve their goals. My goals are geared toward helping other people achieve their goals. That could be helping a patient lose weight, and not having to take as many medications. That could be mentoring a pharmacy school student who wants to become a better leader. That could be me being the best father to my kids so they can have the best life possible.

Reasons why prospective students should choose Campbell over other Graduate and Professional Schools. At Campbell, you’re not just a number or a random person, you’re family. Your faculty cares about you. I had personal setbacks while I was at Campbell and the Campbell team never once gave up on me. They supported me through those difficult times and I will never forget that. Even when I almost gave up on myself, they never did. That is why Campbell is the best choice: the support system.

Additional Comments: Attending Campbell, was the best decision I ever made. It has made me a better man, father, pharmacist, and friend. I can’t say enough about the university and the faculty.