Pharmacist Segments Identified from 2009, 2014, and 2019 National Pharmacist Workforce Surveys: Implications for Pharmacy Organizations and Personnel

Abstract

Background/Objective: Findings from the 2009 and 2014 National Pharmacist Workforce Surveys showed that approximately 40% of U.S. pharmacists devoted their time primarily to medication providing, 40% contributed a significant portion of their time to patient care service provision, and the remaining 20% contributed most of their time to other health-system improvement activities. The objective of this study was to characterize the U.S. pharmacist workforce into segments based on the proportion of time they spend in medication providing and patient care services and compare changes in these segments between 2009, 2014, and 2019. Methods: Data from 2009, 2014, and 2019 National Pharmacist Workforce Surveys were analyzed. Responses from 1200 pharmacists in 2009, 1382 in 2014, and 4766 in 2019 were used for analysis. Respondents working in the pharmacy or pharmacy-related fields reported both their percent time devoted to medication providing and to patient care services. Medication providing included preparing, distributing, and administering medication products, including associated professional services. Patient care services were professional services designed for assessing and evaluating medication-related needs, monitoring and adjusting patient’s treatments, and other services designed for patient care. For each year of data, pharmacist segments were identified using a two-step cluster analysis. Descriptive statistics were used for describing the characteristics of the segments. Results: For each year, five segments of pharmacists were identified. The proportions of pharmacists in each segment for the three surveys (2009, 2014, 2019) were: (1) medication providers (41%, 40%, 34%), (2) medication providers who also provide patient care (25%, 22%, 25%), (3) other activity pharmacists (16%, 18%, 14%), (4) patient care providers who also provide medication (12%, 13%, 15%), and (5) patient care providers (6%, 7%, 12%). In 2019, other activity pharmacists worked over 45 hours per week, on average, with 12 of these hours worked remotely. Patient care providers worked 41 hours per week, on average, with six of these hours worked remotely. Medication providers worked less than 40 hours per week, on average, with just one of these hours worked remotely. Regarding the number of patients with whom a respondent interacted on a typical day, medication providers reported 18 per day, patient care providers reported 11 per day, and other activity pharmacists reported 6 per day. In 2009, 8% of patient care providers worked in a setting that was not licensed as a pharmacy. In 2019, this grew to 17%. Implications/Conclusions: The 2019 findings showed that 34% of U.S. pharmacists devoted their time primarily to medication providing (compared to 40% in 2009 and 2014), 52% contributed a significant portion of their time to patient care service provision (compared to 40% in 2009 and 2014), and the remaining 14% contributed most of their time to other health-system improvement activities. Distinguishing characteristics of the segments suggested that recent growth in the pharmacist workforce has been in the patient care services, with more being provided through remote means in organizations that are not licensed as pharmacies. The findings have implications for pharmacist training, continuing education, labor monitoring, regulations, work systems, and process designs. These changes will create new roles and tasks for pharmacy organizations and personnel that will be needed to support emerging patient care services provided by pharmacists.

Enhancing point-of-care testing through standardized training and redeployment of pharmacy technicians in the community setting

“… 2 , 5 , 6 According to the 2019 national pharmacist workforce study, only about 43.9% of community pharmacists reported participation in comprehensive medication management services while a mere 19.6% of respondents provided point-of-care testing delivery within their pharmacies. 7 This delayed uptake in the provision of pharmacist-delivered direct patient services can be attributed to existing barriers within community pharmacy workflow such as limited time to effectively deliver services, inadequate support staffing, lack of adequate training for pharmacy personnel, and a lack of reimbursement for delivery of these services. 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 8 …”

Pharmacy Technicians Help to Push Boundaries in Delivering Quality Care

“…Another study in this issue took a holistic approach in examining the evolving roles of pharmacists, technicians and other support personnel, concurrently [ 7 ].The study authors demonstrated an increase in the amount of time spent by pharmacists in direct patient care through a segmentation analysis that also bore witness to these pharmacists better integrating those direct patient care activities with distributive functions as well as use of remote locations to provide services. They emphasized the need for training, continuing education, monitoring, regulations, and process designs to keep up with these changes, and hopefully even get ahead of the curve.…”

Community Pharmacists’ Knowledge and Perceptions of Buprenorphine for Patients with Opioid Use Disorder

“…The community pharmacy categories for self-selection are similar to other pharmacist surveys. 21,23,24 An independent pharmacy is owned by a sole proprietor while a chain community pharmacy is corporation owned and operates 4 or more locations. 23,24 Grocery store or mass merchandiser pharmacies are chains selling a wide variety of nonmedication products.…”

“…21,23,24 An independent pharmacy is owned by a sole proprietor while a chain community pharmacy is corporation owned and operates 4 or more locations. 23,24 Grocery store or mass merchandiser pharmacies are chains selling a wide variety of nonmedication products. Respondents were asked to provide the 5-digit zip code of the pharmacy where they practice most often, which designated the location as rural or urban.…”