The AMAs stance on pharmacist expansion of scope of practice is plain and transparent. “The fight against scope creep” treats healthcare as if it were a turf war rather than a complex problem requiring the attention and expertise of an interdisciplinary team. While the AMA leans on obstructionist rhetoric, organizations like Provider CSAO will continue to work towards the goal of expanding patient access to reimbursable primary care services.
The American healthcare system has entered a watershed moment. Shortages are rampant across all industries and professions, but few are as impactful as the ongoing primary care shortage. According to the AAMC, the United States could see a shortage of anywhere from 37,000 to 127,000 physicians over the next 10 years(1) . These primary care shortfalls are driven by three key factors, current population demographics (specifically population growth and aging), percentage of the physician population approaching retirement age, and systematic inequalities in access to healthcare amongst marginalized and rural communities. These headwinds combined with an increasingly costly healthcare system combine to form significant problems that require innovative and multidisciplinary solutions.
Pharmacists are the most frequently seen member of a patient’s healthcare team. They are more accessible than physician offices and are intimately familiar with a patients’ medication regimen. Pharmacists are more likely than other professions to be able to address patient adherence, and as such benefit patient outcomes. The AMA itself recognizes the importance and utility of including pharmacists as part of the interdisciplinary healthcare team. A 2018 article entitled Add a Pharmacist to the Team to See Better Outcomes(2),” expressly advocates for the addition of a pharmacist to the clinical team–recognizing the pharmacists impact on adherence, patient education, and their ability to adjust patient medication regimens helping patients to meet metrics like hemoglobin A1c goals.
Expanding patient access for services like diabetes education, MTM and test and treat protocols in pharmacist led settings increase access for preventative care services that are currently locked up in an overburdened physician led primary care modality. Patient access to primary care services should not be limited to a single profession when other clinicians are available to meet patient needs. Patients should have the ability to choose for themselves how they wish to interact with the American healthcare system and Integrating pharmacists more deeply into the clinical team results in better care. These ideas are especially impactful in rural and marginalized communities where disparities in resources and proximity to a provider result in underutilization of primary care and poor healthcare outcomes.
Pharmacists are clinicians with their own specialties and practice settings. As members of interdisciplinary clinical teams, pharmacists address care gaps that result in better health outcomes for their patients. The role of the pharmacist is expanding and scope of practice is changing precisely because of the value they add to the patient experience. Barriers to pharmacist led services will only further restrict patient access to primary care that is so necessary for a well functioning and adaptable healthcare system.
Healthcare is an interdisciplinary space that places the patient at its center. Current gaps in primary care are caused largely by poor incentive systems that insufficiently value preventative medicine and patient access. The solution is expanding access through appropriate reimbursement for pharmacist led services. As the profession of pharmacy moves away from a dispensing focused model, patients will have more opportunity to benefit from holistically focused preventative care that is willing to use all tools and professions available. Provider CSAO is committed to bolstering an incentive system that benefits patient access and promotes a diverse and nuanced primary care setting.
To learn more about Provider CSAO please visit https://www.providercsao.com/
References:
Comments