Larry entered the health professions in the early 1970s and at that time we were concerned about a phenomena called "poly-pharmacy", a situation where a person was taking multiple drugs. The upper limit was around 5, at which point the potential for serious side effects were pronounced. Today, that concept is rarely mentioned and it is not uncommon for a person to be using 10, 15 or more drugs every day. That can't be healthy.

All those drugs, and their metabolites, end up in our water supply. Even people who don't intentionally use them can potentially suffer from their effects. Drugs cost billions of dollars and contribute greatly to the outrageous cost of health care. Drugs are important. I don't disagree. They have helped so many people be healthier. The problem is that all of us have lost our perspective about the real need for medications. If we need drugs to survive it means either that we have been designed improperly, or that we have damaged a perfectly good body. I conclude that we are built appropriately. I long for a time when we are truly concerned about people who use three or more drugs every day.

"Too Many People Take Too Many Drugs". That's my motto based on over 3 decades of experience and study. I sometimes refer to myself as a "recovering pharmacist", NOT meaning a problem with abuse. But over the years my awareness of the potential risks from drugs has increased to the point where I could never work again in a "traditional" drugstore - one of the most common of stores. I retain my license to practice, but I can never bring myself to participate in a process that I know in my heart is excessive, wrong-headed, and extremely dangerous.

Resume’

EDUCATION

• Marmion Academy, Aurora, IL 1964 graduate
• Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL, business and pre-pharmacy
• University of Illinois College of Pharmacy, Chicago, IL, 1971 graduate, B.S. in Pharmacy
• Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 1975 graduate, Masters in Management, emphasis in Marketing and Human Resources
• Loyola University, Chicago, IL, 1998 graduate, M.A., Philosophy, specialty in Medical Ethics

WORK EXPERIENCE

• 1969 - 1975 Cook County Hospital, Chicago, IL  (Staff Pharmacist, Pharmacist Supervisor)
• 1975 - 1982 Jackson Park Hospital, Chicago, IL  (Director of Pharmacy, Director of Central Services)
• 1982 - 1983 DOCS Drugs, Darien, IL and Wheaton, IL (Staff Pharmacist)

• 1983 - 1993 Medicine Shoppe, Aurora, IL   Owner / Pharmacist (Retail pharmacy)
• 1986 - 2006 Option Care, Aurora, IL    Owner / Pharmacist (Home Infusion services
• 1998 - present The Compounder, Aurora, IL Owner / Pharmacist (Specialty Compounding, hormone balancing, pain relief)

OTHER EXPERIENCES

• Consultant to Ethics Outreach Service at Loyola University, Chicago
• Teaching Assistant in Ethics, Midwest College of Medicine, Downers Grove, IL
• Adjunct Professor for numerous colleges of pharmacy
• Seminar Presenter at a variety of regional and national meetings
• Speaker at the International Seminar of the Professional Compounding Centers of America, January 2000
• Consultant to the Ethics Committee at Provena Mercy Medical Center, Aurora, IL
• Member of the Institutional Review Board at Mercy Provena Medical Center, Aurora, IL

SKILLS

• Health Management / Policy Analysis / Pharmacy / Pain Management
• Situation Analysis / Report Writing
• Public Speaking / Teaching / Seminar Leader
• Lector, Proclaiming the Word of God at Liturgy
• Ethics Training and Organization
• Computer Operation and Applications

INTERESTS & PASSIONS

• End-of-Life Issues / Organ and Tissue Transplantation / Pain and Suffering
• Pharmaceutical Compounding / Hormone Replacement Therapy
• Reading: philosophy, theology, ethics, fiction
• Information Technology / Computer Graphics
• Helping people reduce the amount of prescription drugs they take
• Removing toxic substances from our water supply
• Community Service with The Kiwanis Club
• Trap Shooting at Aurora Sportsmen's Club
• Short driving vacations with my best friend and our Corvette

MEMBERSHIPS

• American Pharmaceutical Association
• Illinois Pharmacists Association (Compounding Section Head)
• Professional Compounding Centers of America
• International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists
• Aurora Sportsmen's Club
• Aurora Kiwanis

PUBLICATIONS

• Use of a Microcomputer in the Management of Antibiotic Dosage, Friedell, PE, Friedell, MT, Frieders, LJ, J. of Medical Systems, Vol. 6, No. 3, 1982
• Can Cancer Pain Be Relieved?, published and distributed by the American Life League, Stafford, VA, 1997
• Innovative Uses of Compounded Tranilast: An Interview with Compounding Pharmacist Larry J. Frieders, RPh
• Patients or Clients? Int J of Compounding Pharmacy Jul/Aug 2006