I viewed an article in Becker's this morning about healthcare provide shortage entitled Healthcare’s broken math: 11 signs the numbers don’t add up. it is an interesting read. The short story appears to be that the upcoming supply of primary care healthcare providers is unlikely to meet demand by a significant margin and those who are entering practice are disproportionately locating to urban areas and more lucrative specialties.
Interestingly, the article did not mention pharmacists as primary care providers.
What if we could step into that role? How would we do that? Where would we locate our practices so that we provided good access? What would we need to have in place? What regulations (especially state regulations) would have to change? How would we arrange to manage our drug preparation, packaging and distribution responsibilities (or delegate them to someone suitably trained)?
I think there is a real opportunity hear. But we need to be ready to seize it. Are we ready?
What do you think?
Dennis A. Tribble, PharmD, FASHP
Retired
Ormond Beach, FL
tribbledennis@gmail.com