Exploring Accessibility of Community Pharmacy Services

Kelling, Sarah E.

doi:10.24926/iip.v6i3.392

Cited by 75 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…It is important to note that, while pharmacists are generally considered the most accessible healthcare professional, the accessibility of pharmacy services is limited in some underserved communities [17, 19, 20]. For example, not all underserved communities have access to national drugstore retailers with established pharmacy-based immunization programs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-Sectional Survey of Perceived Barriers Among Community Pharmacists Who Do Not Immunize, in Wayne County, Michigan

et al. 2016

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IntroductionThe goal of the study was to identify perceived barriers to implementation of vaccination services encountered by independent and small-chain community pharmacies in an urban setting.MethodsPharmacists in independent and small-chain pharmacies located in 29 Michigan ZIP codes were visited and asked to complete a 5- to 10-min semi-structured interview.ResultsA total of 93 independent and 12 small-chain pharmacies participated (n = 105; 61%). The pharmacies filled an average of 700 prescriptions each week with 1.1 pharmacist full-time equivalents and 57 h of technician time. The most common services that participating pharmacies provided were dispensing outpatient medication (99%), medication therapy management (MTM, 65.7%), disease management or coaching (54.3%), point-of-care testing (34.3%), and dispensing medications to inpatient facilities (16.2%). Only seven pharmacies (6.7%) administered vaccinations. When pharmacists were asked to identify what it would take to start to administer vaccines, the most common responses were increased demand from patients (37.1%), adequate time (19%), appropriate space (17.1%), appropriate amount of staff (14.3%), change in attitudes or beliefs of the owner or pharmacists at that pharmacy (13.3%), increased profit related to vaccines (11.4%), and increased awareness among patients about the importance of vaccines (11.4%). The majority of pharmacies (65.3%) reported that only one factor would need to change to start to administer vaccines.ConclusionIndependent and small-chain community pharmacies in an urban, primarily low-income area identified several barriers that have prevented implementation of vaccination services. However, the majority of pharmacies reported that only one factor would need to change in order to begin to administer vaccines. Interventional efforts necessary to address commonly cited barriers may include providing education to pharmacists about the need for community pharmacy-based immunization programs in addition to services provided by physician offices, as well as the importance of proactively providing immunization-related recommendations to patients.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-Sectional Survey of Perceived Barriers Among Community Pharmacists Who Do Not Immunize, in Wayne County, Michigan

et al. 2016

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“…Pharmacists have the advantage of being one of the most accessible healthcare professionals and are able to spend more time educating patients on their medications in comparison to other healthcare providers. 23,24 Medication therapy management (MTM) services are provided by pharmacists to help patients understand their disease state(s) and medications to optimize therapeutic outcomes. 25 These services can be provided to patients faceto-face or telephonically.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study to Measure the impact of Pharmacists and Pharmacy Services (STOMPP) on Medication Non-Adherence: Medication Adherence and Clinical Outcomes

et al. 2018

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“…Considering their accessibility and trusted role as community health care professionals, the community pharmacist is in a unique and advantageous position to forge relationships with patients, including the systematic provision of referrals, which positively impact patients' health. Moreover, as pharmacists expand their roles in patient care and health promotion, they are becoming increasingly recognized as sources of health information; often, pharmacies serve as informal community health access points with pharmacy staff being the initial point of care for many patients . However, recent work examining medication therapy management (MTM) delivery through application of the CCM found that referrals to community health resources as part of MTM are uncommon due to pharmacist and staff reported lack of familiarity with resources available, and the perception that these referrals are not a part of MTM .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived roles of independent community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in patient referrals to community resources: A Study from the Medication Safety Research Network of Indiana (Rx‐SafeNet)

Miller

Perras

Frail

et al. 2019

J Am Coll Clin Pharm

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Introduction Referrals to community resources represent one element of the Chronic Care Model, however, little is known about the perceived role of community pharmacy staff in referring patients to community resources. Objectives The objective of this study was to describe community pharmacists', community pharmacy technicians', and patients' perceptions of pharmacist referrals to community resources. Methods Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with community pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and patients from community pharmacies that are members of the Medication Safety Research Network of Indiana. Qualitative analysis was conducted to identify emergent themes. Results A total of 37 participants, including six community pharmacists, one pharmacy student completing an advanced pharmacy practice experience, 15 community pharmacy technicians, and 15 patients across four independently owned community pharmacies were interviewed. Themes included: (1) Need to build on a foundation of strong patient‐community pharmacist relationships to clearly define the pharmacist's role in referrals, (2) Need to improve familiarity with community resources, (3) Need to clearly delineate and support the role for pharmacy technicians in making referrals, and (4) Need to follow‐up on referrals. Conclusion To enhance community pharmacy staff provision of referrals to community resources, interventions are needed to improve patient and pharmacist familiarity with available resources, patients' perception of the pharmacist's role outside of prescription fulfillment, and follow‐up on referrals. Moreover, pharmacy technician education and training could be expanded to optimize their role in supporting community pharmacists in making referrals.

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Exploring Accessibility of Community Pharmacy Services

Abstract: There has been no funding support, no previous presentations of this work, and there are no conflicts of interest. Acknowledgement

Cited by 75 publications

References 6 publications

Cross-Sectional Survey of Perceived Barriers Among Community Pharmacists Who Do Not Immunize, in Wayne County, Michigan

Cross-Sectional Survey of Perceived Barriers Among Community Pharmacists Who Do Not Immunize, in Wayne County, Michigan

Study to Measure the impact of Pharmacists and Pharmacy Services (STOMPP) on Medication Non-Adherence: Medication Adherence and Clinical Outcomes

Perceived roles of independent community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in patient referrals to community resources: A Study from the Medication Safety Research Network of Indiana (Rx‐SafeNet)

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