Caroline McCarthy

Caroline McCarthy is a Clinical Lecturer in the Department of General Practice at RCSI, with dual roles as a GP and academic researcher. She holds a fellowship from the Health Research Board (HRB) supporting her work on essential medicines in primary care. Her research focuses on prescribing safety, polypharmacy, deprescribing, and sustainable healthcare practices. She contributes to undergraduate and postgraduate medical education, including contributions to the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) committees.

Education:

• MB BCh, Trinity College Dublin (2003-2009)
• MD, RCSI (2016-2021)
• Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (2010)
• Membership of the Irish College of General Practitioners (2010-2015)

Research Interests: Her work addresses optimizing medication therapy in older adults, pharmacoepidemiology, and reducing overtreatment through evidence-based interventions. She specializes in analyzing prescribing patterns using large datasets and Stata software, with a focus on translating research into clinical practice via dashboards and medication reviews.

Grants & Awards:

• HRB Clinician Scientist Postdoctoral Fellowship (2023-2028)
• Post CSCST Fellowship in Essential Medicines (2023-2024)

Teaching & Advising: Leads academic teaching in general practice at RCSI since 2017, including virtual learning innovations during the pandemic. Advises postgraduate courses on polypharmacy and deprescribing for pharmacists and GPs.

Labs/Teams: Embedded in the HRB Centre for Primary Care Research, collaborating on trials like the SPPiRE cluster RCT and the MyComrade cross-border pilot study.