Emergency Pharmacy Program

About This Program

Within the Massachusetts General Hospital Emergency Department, pharmacists are a vital part of the clinical treatment team. Pharmacists provide 24/7, in-person coverage of the department to meet the needs of all patients. Members of the team are experts in various areas, including stroke, sepsis, pain and palliative care, toxicology, geriatrics, infectious diseases, resuscitation, disaster response, pediatrics, and anticoagulation, and serve on numerous committees throughout the hospital. In addition to providing care for critically-ill patients, pharmacists serve an integral role in facilitating treatment of patients with opioid use disorder in conjunction with the MGH Bridge Clinic. To assist this vulnerable population with obtaining, understanding, and using their medications, staff counsel patients on intranasal naloxone and buprenorphine-naloxone, as well as providing them with supplies of each, as appropriate.

We also support the Mass General Pharmacy’s mission to enrich the lives of the diverse community we serve by being accountable for optimal outcomes through exceptional pharmacy practice, innovation, education, and interdisciplinary collaboration. To further the practice of pharmacy in the ED, we have an ASHP-accredited PGY-2 Emergency Medicine pharmacy residency program which was instituted in 2017. Mass General pharmacists hold faculty appointments at Harvard Medical School, Northeastern University School of Pharmacy, and Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. 

Education and Research

• Pharmacology Pearls 
  • PharmERToxGuy 
  • ALiEM 
• Publications 
  • A complete list of publications by MGH emergency medicine pharmacists can be found in their profiles below. 

Our Goals

• To provide evidenced-based clinical care to all patients
• To educate physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and all health care clinicians
• To conduct clinically relevant research in collaboration with other health care clinicians
• To train exceptional pharmacy residents and students

Who We Are

Bryan D. Hayes, PharmD, DABAT, FAACT, FASHP

Team Leader
Emergency Medicine and Clinical Toxicology
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School

Dr. Bryan D. Hayes, PharmD, DABAT, FAACT, FASHP is originally from Coventry, RI. He received a B.S. in Chemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 2000. After working in the lab for a few years, he went back to school and received his PharmD from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences – Worcester in 2005. He went on to complete his PGY1 pharmacy residency at UMass Memorial Medical Center in 2006 and clinical toxicology fellowship at Maryland Poison Center, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in 2008. Dr. Hayes has worked in the MGH emergency department since he joined the team in 2016. His publications can be found on Google Scholar. 

Nancy Balch, PharmD, BCCCP

Emergency Medicine

Dr. Nancy Balch, PharmD, BCCCP is originally from Hingham, Massachusetts. She received her PharmD from Northeastern University. She went on to complete her PGY1 pharmacy residency at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Dr. Balch has worked in the MGH emergency department for over 20 years and is MGH’s first dedicated emergency medicine pharmacist. Her publication can be found at https://www.jenonline.org/article/S0099-1767(05)00184-4/fulltext. 

Kate Ciampa, PharmD, BCPS

Emergency Medicine

Dr. Kate Ciampa, PharmD is originally from Arlington, Virginia. She received her PharmD from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. She went on to complete her PGY1 pharmacy residency and PGY2 emergency medicine pharmacy residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Ciampa has worked in the MGH emergency department since she joined the team in 2020.

Lanting Fuh, PharmD, BCPS

Emergency Medicine
Director, PGY-1 Pharmacy Residency

Dr. Lanting Fuh, PharmD is originally from Glastonbury, CT. She received her PharmD from the University of Connecticut. She went on to complete her PGY1 pharmacy residency at Denver Health Medical Center and PGY2 emergency medicine pharmacy residency at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Dr. Fuh has worked in the MGH emergency department since she joined the team in 2015. She also currently serves as the PGY1 pharmacy residency program director. Her publications can be found on Google Scholar.   

Jenny Koehl, PharmD, BCPS

Emergency Medicine
Director, PGY-2 EM Pharmacy Residency

Dr. Jenny Koehl, PharmD, BCPS is originally from Waupaca, Wisconsin (Go Pack Go). She received her PharmD from The University of California, San Francisco. She went on to complete her PGY1 pharmacy residency and PGY2 emergency medicine residency at The University of Wisconsin (UW Health). Dr. Koehl has worked in the MGH emergency department since she joined the team in 2017. Her publications can be found on Google Scholar. 

Emily Porter, PharmD, BCPS

Emergency Medicine

Dr. Emily Porter, PharmD, BCPS is originally from Berlin, Massachusetts. She received her PharmD from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She went on to complete her PGY1 pharmacy residency and PGY2 emergency medicine residency at UMass Memorial Medical Center. Dr. Porter has worked in the MGH emergency department since she joined the team in 2021.

Nidhi Shelat, PharmD, BCPS

Emergency Department Observation Unit
Coordinator, PGY-2 EM Pharmacy Residency

Nidhi Shelat, PharmD, BCPS is originally from New Jersey. She received her PharmD from Northeastern University. Dr. Shelat worked as an overnight clinical pharmacist until 2019 when she joined the MGH emergency department team with a focus on the ED Observation Unit.

Jessica Mason, PharmD 

Emergency Medicine  

Dr. Jessica Mason is originally from Syracuse, New York. She received her PharmD at the University at Buffalo. She went on to complete her PGY1 pharmacy residency and PGY2 emergency medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Mason has worked in the Mass General emergency department since she joined the team in 2022. Her publications can be found on Google Scholar. 

Clinical Pharmacists’ Publication List

• Finkel MA, Mian P, McIntyre J, Sellas-Ferrer MI, McGee B, Balch N. An original, standardized, emergency department sexual assault medication order sheet. J Emerg Nurs 2005;31(3):271-5. PMID 15983581.
• Lin M, Joshi N, Hayes BD, Chan TM. Accelerating knowledge translation: reflections from the online ALiEM-Annals global emergency medicine journal club experience. Ann Emerg Med 2017;69(4):469-74. PMID 28110995.
• Joshi N, Hayes BD, Mason J, Grock A. Does the Intranasal Route Pass the Sniff Test? Ann Emerg Med 2017;70:212-4. PMID 28734466.
• Fuh L, Sin JH, Goldstein JN, Hayes BD. Reversal of Oral Anticoagulants for Intracerebral Hemorrhage Patients: Best Strategies. Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2017;38(6):726-36. PMID 29262430.
• Sin JH, Tom A, Toyoda A, Roy N, Hayes BD. High-dose intravenous lipid emulsion affecting successful initiation of continuous venovenous hemofiltration and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Clin Toxicol 2018;56(2):149-50. PMID 28681624.
• Farmer BM, Hayes BD, Rao R, Farrell N, Nelson L. The Role of Clinical Pharmacists in the Emergency Department. J Med Toxicol 2018;14(1):114-6. PMID 29075954.
• Motov S, Strayer R, Hayes BD, et al. The Treatment of Acute Pain in the Emergency Department: A White Paper Position Statement Prepared for the American Academy of Emergency Medicine. J Emerg Med 2018;54(5):731-6. PMID 29523420.
• Chai PR, Hayes BD, Erickson TB, Boyer EW. Novichok agents: a historical, current, and toxicological perspective. Toxicol Commun 2018;2(1):45-8. PMID 30003185.
• Kadiri JA, Hayes BD, Lev MH, Sajed D, Miller ES. An unusual case of hearing loss. J Emerg Med 2018;55(3):411-4. PMID 30041855.
• Corio J, Sin JH, Hayes BD, Goldstein JN, Fuh L. Impact of a Pharmacist-Driven Prothrombin Complex Concentrate Protocol on Time to Administration in Patients with Warfarin-associated Intracranial Hemorrhage. West J Emerg Med 2018;19(5):849-54. PMID 30202498.
• O’Brien ME, Koehl JL, Raja AS, Erickson TB, Hayes BD. Age-related cardiovascular outcomes in older adults receiving epinephrine for anaphylaxis in the emergency department. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 2019;7(8):2888-90. PMID 31078763.
• Maguire M, Fuh L, Goldstein JN, Marshall AL, Levine M, Howell ML, Parry BA, Rosovsky R, Hayes BD. Thromboembolic Risk of 4 Factor Prothrombin Complex Concentrate versus Fresh Frozen Plasma for Urgent Warfarin Reversal in the Emergency Department. West J Emerg Med 2019;20(4):619-25. PMID 31316701.
• O’Brien ME, Fuh L, Raja AS, White BA, Yun BJ, Hayes BD. Reduced-dose intramuscular ketamine for severe agitation in an academic emergency department. Clin Toxicol 2019. Epub ahead of print. PMID 31335216.
• Fuh L, Goldstein JN, Hayes BD. Initiation of a fixed-dose four-factor prothrombin complex concentrate protocol. J Thromb Thrombolysis. 2019 Nov 9. Epub ahead of print. PMID 31707622.
• Moreno JL, Duprey MS, Hayes BD, Brooks K, Khalil S, Wakeman SE, Roberts RJ, Jacobson JS, Devlin JW. Agreement between self-reported psychoactive substance use and urine toxicology results for adults with opioid use disorder admitted to hospital. Toxicol Commun 2019;3(1):94-101.
• Jaffe TA, Boyer EW, Erickson TB, Studley H, Hayes BD, Chai PR. Acute and delayed toxicity from co-ingestion of methylene chloride and methanol. Toxicol Commun 2019;3(1):79-84. PMID 31745533.
• Koehl JL, Zimmerman DE, Bridgeman PJ. Medications for opioid use disorder. Am J Health Syst Pharm 2019;76(15):1097-1103. PMID 31361869.
• Baugh JJ, Roberts RJ, Biddinger PD, Raja AS, Rosovsky RP, Andonian JS, Hayes BD. Anticoagulant acrobatics: Surviving the global heparin shortage in the emergency department. Am J Emerg Med 2019. PMID 31911061.
• Maguire M, Hayes BD, Fuh L, Elshaboury R, Gandhi RG, Bor S, Shenoy ES, Wolfson AR, Mancini CM, Blumenthal KG. Beta-lactam antibiotic test doses in the emergency department. World Allergy Organ J 2020;13:100093.
• Koehl JL, Hayes BD, Rosovsky RP. A comprehensive evaluation of apixaban in the treatment of venous thromboembolism. Exp Rev Hematology 2020. In production.
• Patel SK, Elshaboury RH, Gandhi RG, Hayes BD, Yun BJ, Koehl JL. Assessment and optimization of the empiric treatment of urinary tract infections in an academic emergency department observation unit. J Emerg Med 2020. In production.