Pharmacists belong on frontline of primary care

Abstract

Last month’s theme issue of Health Affairs—the leading health policy journal—explores ways of redesigning the nation’s health care workforce to respond to the Affordable Care Act as well as an aging population. Given the projected primary care provider shortage as 30 million newly insured people come into the health care system, pharmacists can help fortify the frontline of primary care by providing medication management services such as comprehensive medication review, reconciliation of discrepancies, identifying and resolving medication-related problems, medication coordination across multiple prescribers and pharmacies, and monitoring for any adverse drug events or preventable medication errors, Smith told Pharmacy Today. Smith is the Henry A. Palmer Professor of Community Pharmacy Practice and Assistant Dean of Pharmacy Practice and Policy Partnerships at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, and is currently on a faculty leave with the CMS Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation.