Expanding Access to Patient Care in Community Pharmacies for Minor Illnesses in Washington State.

Introduction: As the shortage of primary care providers widens nationwide, access to care utilizing non-physician providers is one strategy to ensure equitable access to care. This study aimed to compare community pharmacist-provided care for minor ailments to care provided at three traditional sites of care: primary care, urgent care, and emergency department, to determine if care provided by pharmacists improved access with comparable quality and reduced financial strain on the healthcare system.

Methods: Pharmacy data was provided from 46 pharmacies and 175 pharmacists who participated across five pharmacy corporations over a 3-year period (2016-2019).

Battling professional self-sabotage: Embracing standard of care as the future of pharmacy regulation.

Laws and regulations are intended to protect the public; however, overregulation of the profession can block initiatives focused on patient safety and public health. This article discusses the 3 main regulatory approaches to pharmacy practice: standard of care (SOC), bright line, and right touch. An SOC regulatory model supports practitioners delivering patient care within their scope of practice and clinical training.

AACP Strategic Engagement Committee Report: Report of the 2022-2023 Strategic Engagement Standing Committee.

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy recognizes strategic engagement as critical to the success of pharmacy education, contributing to the expansion of pharmacy and public health practice, the fulfillment of institutional missions, and the meeting of programmatic needs. The 2022-2023 Strategic Engagement Committee or the Committee was charged with identifying ways professional advocacy is being emphasized in Doctor of Pharmacy and graduate education curricula to optimize active student engagement and share new resources for the ongoing resource guide being developed by the association. The Committee was also tasked with identifying advocacy champions at each member institution, integrating them into the work of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Policy Advisory Task Force, and identifying strong advocacy partnerships between colleges and schools of pharmacy and state pharmacy organizations that can be replicated to advance the legislative or regulatory priorities of the profession.

Implementing community pharmacy-based influenza point-of-care test-and-treat under collaborative practice agreement.

Background: Early and accessible testing for influenza with point-of-care testing (POCT) can be a critical factor for deciding to begin antiviral treatment. More than 10,000 pharmacies across the USA offer Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments-waived POCT for infectious diseases, such as influenza A/B. Knowledge of barriers and facilitators to large-scale POCT implementation may be useful in scaling POCT for influenza test-and-treat services (Flu POCT).

Training Student Pharmacists to Perform Point-of-Care Testing.

To implement training in point-of-care testing (POCT) for student pharmacists and to assess students' comfort with performing and recommending POCT for Group A streptococcus (GAS), influenza, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) after completion of training. The POCT training was provided to students via a 3.5-hour module imbedded in an intensive, week-long course.

Assessing Readiness of Community Pharmacists to Perform and Document Medically Billed Clinical Services.

Objectives: To assess the readiness of community pharmacists in documenting and performing medically billed clinical services. Additionally, the preferred training method of community pharmacists was evaluated.

Methods: This study surveyed practicing pharmacists in a chain community pharmacy in Washington State via a voluntary, anonymous online survey through Qualtrics.

Pharmacists' Role in Chronic Disease Management from Physicians' Perspective.

Objective: The objective of this research was to gather physicians' perception of pharmacists providing chronic disease management and identify trends in physicians' characteristics that could potentially impact their comfort level collaborating with pharmacists.

Method: Physicians practicing in the outpatient setting in the state of Washington were invited to participate in a voluntary, anonymous survey. Physicians practicing in a large multidisciplinary outpatient clinic in the Southwest Washington and Seattle areas were included.

Teaching About Human Papillomavirus: Lessons Learned.

Occupational and environmental health nurses play a critical role in educating the public about human papillomavirus (HPV). With HPV vaccination rates remaining low, creative educational models should be explored.

Use of CLIA-waived point-of-care tests for infectious diseases in community pharmacies in the United States.

Review of point-of-care (POC) testing in community pharmacies, availability and specifications of CLIA-waived infectious disease POC tests, and provide recommendations for future community pharmacy POC models in an effort to improve patient outcomes while reducing antibiotic resistance. PubMed and Medscape were searched for the following keywords: infectious disease, community pharmacy, rapid diagnostic tests, rapid assay, and POC tests. All studies utilizing POC tests in community pharmacies for infectious disease were included.