Expanding Pharmacy Services to Support Public Health

Abstract

Pharmacists have had long-standing roles in public health, and the COVID-19 pandemic has broadened and accentuated their efforts in this area. Many pharmacists may be interested to expand pharmacy services to further support public health. While not intending to be exhaustive, this paper suggests potential areas for increased engagement and provides ideas for pharmacists who want develop and implement new initiatives to optimize the health of their patients and communities. The core functions of public health and the natural history of disease are presented as models to identify opportunities for pharmacists’ interventions. A three-step framework with practical strategies and helpful resources is proposed to identify and operationalize new services. Finally, the pharmacist’s role in clinical-community linkages is presented. It is hoped that this paper will stimulate additional ideas and actions in the pharmacy community to support public health.

Keywords

• pharmacist, public health, preventive health services