Greg Williams

Biography

Greg Williams thinks he will get one shot at an iron distance triathlon (that’s a long distance version). With a young family and the heavy demands of training, Greg doesn’t hold out much hope of having the time for more. Which is a shame because, as Greg says: “I do some of my best thinking in the pool”. That thinking certainly helped with his previous role as a senior therapeutic group manager, where he was responsible for the group of medicines that deal with infections.

Research Interest

For Greg the global issue of growing antimicrobial resistance is an everyday reality. He describes PHARMAC’s role as one of ‘antimicrobial stewardship’. “It’s about appropriate use,” he says. “It’s easy to understand how a clinician prescribes, because they are treating the patient in front of them. For us it’s about balancing that personal need with population need. “It’s one of the areas in health where inappropriate prescribing for an individual can end up impacting other people’s treatment. That doesn’t happen with other medicines, where inappropriate use usually only affects the individual. It’s a very important area.”