Pharmacy care is in the midst of an oft-unspoken crisis in the U.S. Major retail chains and local independent pharmacies are shuttering locations in waves, and hospitals and clinics continue to close in many communities. These two trends in tandem are creating new pharmacy deserts across the country, leaving people without critical pharmacy services. To make matters worse, workforce shortages and reduced hours in pharmacies that do still exist are making it even more difficult for people to get medications, vaccinations and consultations.
For many people, especially those managing one or more chronic conditions, pharmacy access is the easiest path to trusted care—the easiest way someone can access a healthcare professional. Pharmacists play an important role in their communities. Patients trust their pharmacists to answer routine healthcare questions, and, importantly, find the best and most affordable treatments based on their medical history to discuss lower-cost options with their physicians.
If the pharmacist’s role remains narrowly defined as a “medication dispenser,” the pharmacy care crisis will worsen. Pharmacies will continue to close, communities will lose a lifeline to vital services they’ve relied on for generations and the promise of a better, healthier life becomes more than just elusive. For many, it becomes impossible.
Bridging these widening gaps in pharmacy access requires more than just keeping pharmacies open. It will require reimagining pharmacy care, what pharmacists can do for patients, how care is delivered and how pharmacists are integrated into care teams.
Healthcare leaders can start today by enabling pharmacists’ ability to practice at the top of their license, embracing pharmacist-forward technology and expanding how medications reach patients.
Elevating the role of pharmacists
Community pharmacies are an important part of care networks. The blueprint to support pharmacists’ delivery of clinical services in addition to dispensing medication already exists.
Pharmacists have the education and training needed to help patients beyond dispensing medication. They can provide clinical services that help patients manage chronic conditions, monitor response to treatment, recommend medication adjustments to physicians if needed and coordinate care with other healthcare providers. In many cases, they can fill critical care gaps left in the wake of the physician shortage.
When pharmacists are recognized professionally and financially for working at the top of their license, everyone benefits. Pharmacists more firmly cement their role in overall medical management beyond drug dispensing; physicians have better access to drug expertise and the ability to support patients after appointments; health plans reduce medication-related risks in critical populations; and patients have greater access to the services they need to become and remain healthy.
Technology plays a critical supporting role in this approach. Over the past decade, digital tools have transformed how people see their doctors, interact with their care teams and manage their health and medications. Beyond dispensing functions, pharmacy services have not kept up.
Today, new technology enables any physician to choose medications based on their patient’s specific health benefits without looking up a drug formulary or calling the health plan. They can also view their patient’s medication cost, including health plan coverage information, before the patient leaves the office. New technology also allows patients to easily check medication prices themselves through their health plan. This kind of digitized price transparency can help people stay on their medications and avoid pricing surprises at the pharmacy counter. Health plans can make digital tools available to support patient decision-making, but these tools only work if patients use them. Patients should make a habit of asking their physicians to view the information during prescribing or bring up that information themselves using a mobile phone app, so they can discuss their options in a more informed manner. Pharmacists can also be a bridge between physician and patient as they have unique expertise in navigating prescription benefits, formularies and pharmacy networks.
Virtual pharmacy services allow pharmacists to focus on clinical activities and make pharmacy care more accessible. People should be able to talk to their pharmacist via secure video or phone appointments to receive the same personalized advice they would get at the pharmacy counter. Increasing this level of convenience and personalization is necessary to evolving the pharmacy care experience and allows patients to receive care in a private setting with the support of other family or caregivers, rather than in a busy pharmacy. Technologies like this can provide critical human connection for those who might feel isolated, particularly in communities facing pharmacy and hospital closures.
Even with advancements in technology and home delivery, there is no substitute for a trusted relationship with a healthcare professional who knows you. The crisis in pharmacy access is real and growing, but it also presents an opportunity to reimagine how we respond. Together with pharmacists, we can build an enduring system of pharmacy care that ensures every community has access to the care it needs.
Salina Wong is director of pharmacy care at Blue Shield of California.