Abstract
Today pharmacists are using their clinical skills to serve the community through vaccinations, emergency preparedness and response, drug education, health screenings, medication therapy management (MTM), and counseling services. This article provides a summary of why the pharmacist's role should be expanded in the public health arena. It is essential to realize the capability of pharmacists and further expand their role in the public health arena in order to improve the quality of care and control costs of the nation. Pharmacists are more accessible to patients than any other healthcare professional and are well-trained to further advance the mission of public health: to promote health, wellness and prevention. provide patients with medication information (5). The cooperation between pharmacists and other healthcare providers continues to grow and the acceptance of patient advocacy through pharmacists continues to improve. Although the pharmacist's role in public health has increased, it is important to realize that pharmacists have the ability to play an even larger role in the implementation of cost controls and efficiency to lead to better quality of care. Increasing the healthcare workforce through greater utilization of pharmacists may lead to innovative oppor- tunities to coordinate care and work towards improving the health of the entire population (6). There is extensive literature highlighting the various skills and services that pharmacists may provide, but there is little evidence summarizing the pharmacist's role in public health. This review of the literature aimed to: (1) describe reasons why the pharmacist's role within public health should be expanded and (2) identify potential changes that can be made by pharmacists to assume a greater role in different sectors of public health.
Highlights
The review of literature suggests that expanding the pharmacist’s roles in the public health may have a positive impact by improving relationships between pharmacists, patients, and other healthcare providers, focusing on a patient centered approach and educating current and future pharmacists to promote the importance of public health
Collaboration within pharmacy and public health arenas may provide a platform for evidence based decision making through processes that focus on common problems and build a foundation for decisions
Evidence suggests that utilizing pharmacists in public health settings helps to improve health outcomes, decrease costs, prevent diseases, minimize adverse drug events and maintain good patient health
Summary
The pharmacist’s role in public health has increased, it is important to realize that pharmacists have the ability to play an even larger role in the implementation of cost controls and efficiency to lead to better quality of care. Increasing the healthcare workforce through greater utilization of pharmacists may lead to innovative opportunities to coordinate care and work towards improving the health of the entire population [6]. Addressing public health concerns has been an issue for many years and the nation is beginning to realize the importance of utilizing pharmacists to improve efforts in this arena. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, public health has expanded and the interest in related career opportunities for pharmacists has grown in recent years [3]. A study conducted by the Medical University of South Carolina showed that physicians agreed on the importance of expanding the community pharmacist’s role in patient advocacy to help
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