From administrative burdens and burnout to health care consolidation and a Medicare system in need of reform, it’s perhaps not surprising that there is a nationwide primary care shortage.1 Nearly two-thirds of counties in the US have 1 primary care provider per 1500 individuals, said Melanie Marcus, but pharmacists could step in and help close that gap.
“We’ve got to create teams of providers who can sell each other on the care that’s provided, whether that’s Food is Medicine, test and treat, or immunizations in the pharmacy,” explained Marcus, the Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer at Surescripts. She sat down with Drug Topics at the 2024 National Association of Chain Drug Stores Total Store Expo, held August 17 to August 19 in Boston, Massachusetts. “Pharmacists have a big role there.”
As pharmacists continue to take on clinical tasks—such as vaccination and chronic disease management, an expanded scope of practice which allow them to practice at the top of their license—there has been a simultaneous push to have pharmacists receive financial reimbursement for the services they are providing. Currently, pharmacists are not recognized as providers under Medicare Part B, limiting their ability to directly bill for the clinical services they provide. Collaborations with other health care providers, state insurers, and health systems have allowed pharmacists to “implement more sustainable clinical programs into their practices,” the American Pharmacists Association noted.2
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