Many are advocating for pharmacists to have more prescribing authority as medications become more specialized and there is a shortage of primary care physicians. Retail pharmacy giants such as CVS Health, Walgreens, Walmart, and Amazon are already allowing their pharmacists to prescribe certain medications like antivirals used for Covid-19. The Biden Administration’s “test to treat” initiative has allowed state-licensed pharmacists to test patients for Covid-19 and immediately prescribe a treatment, such as an antiviral, to prevent deaths and hospitalizations from the virus.
This initiative serves as a test case for why pharmacies argue that pharmacists should be allowed to prescribe in more instances and regulations should be changed to expand their scope of practice. Pharmacy executives believe that pharmacists are often the first healthcare professionals that patients encounter and are equipped to do more than just manage prescriptions. Big retail pharmacies see the ability of pharmacists to prescribe as a way to address the growing shortage of healthcare workers and provide more healthcare services within their stores. They emphasize the importance of pharmacists in providing accessible care to patients.
Major pharmacy companies like Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, and Amazon support efforts to expand the role of pharmacists as providers of medical care. They believe that pharmacists should be able to practice at the top of their license and use newer technologies to focus on clinical care rather than administrative tasks. Walmart, for example, offers testing and treatment services for Covid-19, strep throat, and the seasonal flu in many of its stores across multiple states. However, there is opposition from physician groups such as the American Medical Association and state medical societies, who believe that healthcare should be led by physicians and oppose expansions of pharmacist’s scope of practice.
The Illinois State Medical Society is one such group that is opposed to the “test and treat” model, saying that it prioritizes profit over patient care and puts patients at risk. They argue that pharmacists are not trained to diagnose or prescribe and that many models fail to provide safe spaces for patient privacy. Additionally, a study by the Pharmacy Workforce Center found that pharmacists are already overworked with their current tasks and adding the responsibility of prescribing could lead to more errors. Despite this opposition, pharmacies and organizations like the Elton John AIDS Foundation are working to train pharmacists to educate patients about medications such as PrEP for HIV prevention.
The Elton John AIDS Foundation has partnered with Walmart and Duke University to train pharmacists on the benefits of testing for diseases such as HIV and quickly prescribing necessary medications. They emphasize the importance of providing services like HIV testing and PrEP to those who may not have easy access to healthcare facilities. They view pharmacists as playing an indispensable role in providing compassionate care to their local communities. Overall, the push for expanded prescribing authority for pharmacists is a contentious issue with support from major pharmacy companies and opposition from physician groups who believe that care should be led by doctors.