Pharmaceutical Care Pioneer in New Zealand Honored by the King of England
February 3, 2023
Minneapolis
Bernie McKoneBernard (Bernie) McKone of Cromwell, Otago in the South Island of New Zealand has been appointed a 2023 Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit by the King of England for service to patients and the pharmaceutical sector.(1) In a career spanning more than 40 years, Bernie McKone has worked at the leading edge of the profession. In 1994, Bernie and four New Zealand colleagues traveled to the United States seeking to adapt the tenets of pharmaceutical care practice through collaborations with colleagues in Minnesota and elsewhere.(2) These collaborations culminated with development of the Comprehensive Pharmaceutical Care Program that remains viable in New Zealand. Bernie McKone’s dedication to his community, patients and profession also earned him distinction as a 2021 Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand (PSNZ) Gold Medal recipient, the highest honor bestowed by the Society often regarded as proportional to the U.S. Remington Honor Medal.(3)
The New Zealand Order of Merit was instituted by Royal Warrant in 1996 to recognize those, “who in any field of endeavor, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and the nations or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions, or other merits.”(4) Bernie McKone’s impact on transforming care provided by pharmacists transcends contributions as a community pharmacy owner, District Health Board and Primary Health Network advisor, Rotary Club and Rugby Board member, and as President of the PSNZ. In fact, when Bernie received the PSNZ Gold Medal, he cited his involvement in the Comprehensive Pharmaceutical Care working party to Minnesota and meetings with Professors Linda Strand, Doug Hepler and Brian Isetts as one of the most rewarding achievements in his career.(3)
Sources:
- Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. New Year Honours List 2023. Available at:
https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/new-year-honours-list-2023 - Isetts BJ, McKone BJ.Practice Changes Facilitated by Pharmaceutical Care (Chapter 12).
In: Knowlton CH, and Penna RP, eds. Pharmaceutical Care, 2nd ed. Bethesda, MD: American Society of Health-System Pharmacy, 2003: 213-231. - Pharmaceutical Society of New Zealand. Leading Pharmacists Honoured. 14 May 2021, available at:
https://www.psnz.org.nz/Story?Action=View&Story_id=148 - Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The New Zealand Order of Merit. Available at:
https://dpmc.govt.nz/our-programmes/new-zealand-royal-honours/new-zealand-royal-honours-system/components-new-zealand-0
Draft Press Release submitted by Brian Isetts, January 5, 2023