The Key Role of Sole Community Pharmacists in Their Local Healthcare Delivery Systems

Date
03/2009
Description

This findings brief presents findings from a 2008 survey of 401 community pharmacists that are the only retail provider in their community to document their extended relationships with other healthcare providers and the additional health care services these pharmacists provide to their patients. Pharmacist-owners in independent pharmacies located at least 10 miles from the next closest retail pharmacy were interviewed to determine the presence in their community of other types of healthcare organizations that require pharmaceutical support(such as hospitals, long-term care facilities, hospice providers, home health agencies and community health centers), their level of involvement with those facilities, and the types of clinical services (other than dispensing and counseling) the pharmacists offered to their own patients.

Center
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Authors
Andrea Radford, Indira Richardson, Michelle Mason, Stephen Rutledge