National Pharmacy Week highlights the role pharmacists play in patient care as healthcare consumers increasingly count on them for wellness information, drug consultation, and non-emergency services.
The annual National Pharmacy Week recognizes the increasingly important role of pharmacy staff in supporting patient care as well as their growing role across the healthcare continuum. Pharmacists are vital to ensuring healthcare consumers receive safe, quality treatment and education about their care journeys. This week offers an opportunity to recognize and affirm the contributions these care team members make to maintaining patients’ safety and improving their experiences.
Five ways to amplify the role of your pharmacists
The pharmacist’s role is no longer simply dispensing prescription medications - many health consumers depend on their local pharmacist to answer health-related questions and to discuss non-emergency issues. In fact, pharmacists are among the most trusted members of the healthcare team and have a tremendous opportunity to highlight all they do to support patients, members, and customers in today’s healthcare ecosystem.
As their roles continue to shift, what can healthcare leaders do to harness their knowledge and partner together for better patient care? National Pharmacy Week offers an opportunity to look at five ways to amplify the impacts of pharmacists today.
1. Provide medication therapy management services to patients
Approximately 1.3 million people visit the emergency room yearly because of an adverse drug event. Most of these occur in patients taking numerous prescription and over-the-counter medications. Medication therapy management (MTM) programs reduce the number of adverse events, improving patient outcomes and saving lives.
Pharmacists are the primary MTM providers. Patients participating in these programs receive in-depth consultations from a trained pharmacist. An MTM pharmacist carries the burden of ensuring the drugs patients take are appropriate for their health conditions, aren’t leading to dangerous side effects, and don’t interact negatively with other medications. Additionally, these professionals assess consumer medication adherence and educate them about the drugs they take.
The responsibility is significant, but pharmacists are well-suited to the role. A recent Wolters Kluwer’s Pharmacy Next survey revealed that:
- 79% think their pharmacist is a trustworthy source of care.
- 56% of Gen Z and 54% of Millennials have entrusted their care to a pharmacist over the previous year, versus 40% of Gen X and 35% of Baby Boomers.
- 62% trust their pharmacists to provide adult vaccinations, such as flu shots.
With consumer trust in pharmacists high, increasing shortages of nurses and doctors, and the rise of complex treatment approaches, pharmacists are increasingly filling gaps in care for the benefit of patients.
2. Collaborate with other healthcare providers
Pharmacists can work collaboratively with other healthcare providers to drive better patient outcomes. Effective communication is key to this collaboration - pharmacists can share important patient information such as medication history, drug allergies, and drug interactions. They can also recommend medication changes or adjustments based on the patient's condition.
In working with other healthcare providers, sharing information across care teams, and referencing the same clinical content, pharmacists can increase trust with patients and help them receive the best possible care. Pharmacists can also educate and counsel patients on medication use and adherence, which can further improve patient outcomes and experiences.
3. Implement medication adherence strategies
Medication adherence can impact treatment outcomes and healthcare costs more than the prescribed treatment. Non-adherence can lead to a lower quality of life, worsening health conditions, and death. However, adherence is an ongoing concern, with rates of non-adherence to long-term medication treatments estimated at around 50%.
Once again, pharmacists are stepping up, identifying adherence barriers, and implementing strategies to assist patients in following prescribed treatments and refilling medications on time. Some of the most effective measures include:
- Consultations to discuss the importance of adherence
- Interviews to identify barriers
- Longer prescription periods
- Automated reminders
- Automatic refills
- Recommendations for pill boxes and other packaging designed to improve adherence
4. Utilize technology to improve patient care
Pharmacies that implement support systems and provide additional training and resources ensure a smoother transition to a broader healthcare services system.
Utilizing the right technology can improve patient care. Resources for pharmacists such as relevant, consumer-centric educational materials and drug information resources promote efficiency and trust, leading to higher positive experience rates among patients and consumers.
5. Stay updated on the latest clinical guidelines and best practices in pharmacy practice
From 2010 through 2019, the U.S. Federal Drug Administration approved an average of 38 new prescription drugs yearly, a 60% increase from the previous decade. Pharmacists’ critical role in ensuring patient medication safety places a high degree of responsibility on clinicians and their staff to remain informed about the latest clinical guidelines.
Furthermore, the rapidly evolving healthcare and drug landscape requires the ability to adapt to changes in best practices for pharmacies. Staying updated with the latest evidence-based clinical information is yet another way pharmacists are rising to the occasion to fill care gaps and support patients.
Healthcare access equality demands a multi-faceted, integrated approach to care, and pharmacists play a critical role. National Pharmacy Week provides an opportunity for members of the healthcare industry to highlight the role of the pharmacist and their impacts on patient and consumer experiences.
Learn how our UpToDate® Lexidrug™ referential drug solution can provide your pharmacy teams with the latest clinical information to make the best patient decisions possible.