prescription drugs become more specialized and a shortage of primary care physicians threatens quick access to medical care. In this photo, a Walgreens pharmacists meets with a patient.The pharmacy industry is pushing for more ways pharmacists can prescribe as prescription drugs become more specialized and a shortage of primary care physicians threatens quick access to medical care.
“When patients think of a pharmacist, they often think of the person they see behind the counter managing their prescriptions, but they are equipped to do so much more than that,” saidand Walgreens vice president of pharmacy practice. “We are supporting the federal provider status legislation before Congress and encouraging legislators and board authority at state levels to understand that there is an underutilization of what pharmacists are trained to do.
More broadly, pharmacies see the ability of a pharmacist to prescribe as a way to address the widening shortage of physicians and other healthcare workers across the U.S. In addition, big retail pharmacies see “test and treat” as a way to add another healthcare service to the growing menu of medical care offerings already provided at drugstores, big box retailers and grocery stores.
“Testing and treatment services are allowed on a state-by-state basis where pharmacists are authorized to test and prescribe, and we continue to work with states as we launch this effort at our pharmacies,” Walmart said in a statement. The Illinois State Medical Society points to a study by the Pharmacy Workforce Center that shows pharmacists are already overworked performing the tasks they are already approved to do.of more than 3,000 pharmacists said 75% of pharmacists in chain settings said they have so much work to do now that everything cannot be done well.
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