It’s no secret that the United States is currently facing a shortage of primary care providers, one that is expected to get worse over the next few years. Currently, there is a projected shortfall of 87,150 primary care providers by 2037, especially in rural areas. This shortage is driven not only by an increased need in primary care by an aging and sick population but also by physician retirements and continued difficulties in recruiting and retaining clinicians in this specialty.
One suggestion to help alleviate some of the stress of this widening gap in patient care is to empower pharmacists to practice at the top of their licenses. Trained in medication management, chronic disease monitoring, preventive care and patient counseling, pharmacists are certainly capable of providing many services traditionally offered by primary care providers. In many cases where there is limited access to providers, this care has already been occurring, as pharmacists are often the most accessible healthcare provider. Mid-level providers like nurse practitioners and physician assistants are already stepping up to play a growing role in primary care, and pharmacists can further expand this team-based approach.
Pharmacists can be empowered to practice at the top of their license, providing immunizations, managing chronic conditions like hypertension or diabetes, offering medication therapy management and conducting health screenings. This could significantly reduce the burden on overstretched primary care practices.
Despite their potential, pharmacists often spend too much of their time on menial tasks—prescription dispensing, insurance processing, inventory management and more. These time-consuming responsibilities have traditionally limited their ability to engage in direct patient care the way we need them to.
Centralized pharmacy fulfillment could change that. By shifting some of the routine prescription filling and processing to automated, centralized facilities, pharmacies can free up their pharmacists’ time for patient-facing activities. Centralized fulfillment can streamline operations, help to reduce the risk of human error and allow pharmacists in community settings to focus on clinical services, patient education and care coordination. In turn, pharmacists could then devote more attention to preventive care, chronic disease management and other services that directly address the primary care shortage.
As the physician shortage deepens over the next decade, it is essential that the healthcare industry look critically at the role of the pharmacist and consider expanding their scope of practice to more fully integrate them into the care teams, including providing the proper reimbursement for this care. However, it is also essential for pharmacies to examine innovative ways to allow pharmacists the time they need for patient-facing care.
Leveraging the pharmacists’ expertise can be game-changing for the healthcare system in this time of crisis. Allowing pharmacists to help with filling the primary care gap can help to ensure that more Americans have access to the healthcare they need.