Charting the demand for pharmacists in the managed care era.

Abstract

To discuss the future demand for pharmacists and pharmaceutical services in the managed care area. Published reports about the future demand for health professionals and data relating to managed care and the institutional pharmacy work force. A panel from the Pharmacy Manpower Project's Subcommittee to Study Demand Issues examined a broad range of pharmacy-related work-force projections and found widely differing predictions. The panel reviewed recent health care trends related to managed care and data about staff size and changing job numbers in institutional pharmacies to determine which of the predictions were most likely. Medication management problems in the context of increasing prescription numbers and the emergence of data-driven health care support a scenario of a steadily increasing demand for pharmacists and pharmaceutical services. Higher penetration by managed care was not associated with job loss or reduced pharmacy staff size in institutions. There is little reason to expect the dramatic downsizing of the pharmacy work force predicted by the third report of the Pew Commission. However, retaining pharmacy roles that are useful to the system and satisfying to pharmacists will require a continuation of current proactive measures by the profession.