Linda R. Bernstein, Pharm.D.
Producer, Writer, Editor and Host of Dr. Linda TV
Who is “Dr. Linda”?
Linda R. Bernstein, Pharm.D. is a clinically trained, licensed pharmacist who broke new ground by merging media and pharmacy. She has served as a producer, writer and host of hundreds of innovative, award-winning local and national TV, radio, web and print programs and materials for health care professionals, patients and consumers of all ages. She has been a national pharmacist spokesperson for corporations and nonprofits. She is President and CEO of Vita Media Corporation, a medical communications company founded in 1998 (see www.drlindabernstein.com). Dr. Bernstein engages the power of medical media to enlighten us all.
Academics
She received her Doctor of Pharmacy and two years of residency training at the School of Pharmacy, University of California, San Francisco ( UCSF). She served within the UCSF Division of Clinical Pharmacy from 1979-1996 as a Clinical Professor and is now on their volunteer faculty.
Major Positions
Dr. Bernstein has held positions for UCSF (Clinical Professor and Senior Pharmacist), Safeway Corporate Pharmacy Operations (Manager of Marketing and Promotions and Media Spokesperson), San Francisco Department of Public Health (Clinical Pharmacist in Bioterrorism Preparedness), Knowledge Point 360 (Associate Scientific Director), UCSF Inpatient and Jewish Home Pharmacies (staff pharmacist), Sentrx and Telerx (Director of Commercial Solutions and Vice President of Business Development).
Consumer Media
Dr. Bernstein’s award-winning consumer radio program, In The Medicine Cabinet, ran for 10 years, and aired on KFRC, KABL, and KSFO in the San Francisco Bay Area. Each week she interviewed members of her “Cabinet of Experts”. Her series of 52 video vignettes called, Your Consumer Pharmacist, promoted the safe and effective use of medicines and aired weekly on KTVU.
Her book, The Family Vacation Health and Safety Guide led to two series of travel health videos for United Airlines, Go In Good Health and Health, Food & Fitness! She was a guest pharmacist expert on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, KTVU’s Mornings on 2, The Home Show, KGO, KPIX and KRON News and many others. She was media spokesperson for Safeway Pharmacy, FamilyWize.org and National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE) public health campaigns. She has written over a hundred print and internet articles for Walgreens, Safeway, Krogers and Thrifty pharmacies, Newsweek, Woman's Day, Parenting, Hippocrates, Biospace.com, WebMD/Medscape, Consumer Guide and more. Dr. Bernstein was The Wellness Network's Pharmacy Advisor. She is a regular contributor to Costco Connection Magazine which reaches over 14 million subscribers each month.
Professional Media
During her years at UCSF, Dr. Bernstein was producer, co-writer and host of the first ever continuing education television series called Pharmacy Education on the Air, Issues in Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacy Rounds that aired nationally on Lifetime Medical TV. Other programs included The Pharmacy Report and The Drug Report for ReachMD.com, medical reporting for Global Newsline and Meeting Highlights for Pharmacy Practice News. She was Director of the Pharmacy Council on Cholesterol. Dr. Bernstein’s professional publications appeared in the American Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, Medical Care, Health Education, Drug Intelligence and Clinical Pharmacy, the New England Journal of Medicine, and PowerPak CE, among others.
Children’s Media
Dr. Bernstein created The Lub Dub Club, a multi-lingual, musical curriculum for San Francisco youth funded by the American Heart Association. Her award-winning musical TV vignettes on exercise, nutrition, and poison prevention featured the Pickle Family Circus and aired on KQED. She created a AAA-sponsored audio book on car safety called Car Pool School. She developed and hosted a 40,000 member health and safety club for Safeway, called, To Do Kids Crew, to teach children how to do things to take care of themselves and help others. Her multi-character musical TV segments, called, The Big To Do aired for a year on PBS.
Selected Awards
Dr. Bernstein was co-recipient of the American Society of Health Systems Pharmacists Research Award in 1983 for a pivotal study of the impact of clinical pharmacy services on prescribing on the UCSF Orthopedic Surgery service.
Dr. Bernstein was honored to be one of the 2018 UCSF Campaign Alumni Award winners in The Audacious category. She was recognized for her ground-breaking work as a media pharmacist. See article below.
She was the 2001 Winner, Individual Category, Paul G. Rogers/NCPIE, Medication Communicator Award.
She was co-recipient of the 1994 C. Everett Koop Award for Best Professional Video and other awards from the International Health and Medical Film Festival.
