Community

Pharmacist’s Role in the

Care Continuum
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
After going through the presentation, the student shall be
able:
To understand core responsibilities of Community
Pharmacist.
Describe different activities performed by Community
Pharmacist.
Identify the skills required by Community Pharmacist.
Code of ethics.
● American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP)
believes that community pharmacists are skilled clinicians
who play an important role in the care continuum as equal,
essential, and valued members of the healthcare team.
● Community pharmacists should be recognized as medication
experts and accountable partners for optimal health
outcomes.
 Background
● Community pharmacy ranks among the most frequent consumer touch points
in healthcare.
● More than 90% of Americans live within 5 miles of a pharmacy, and patients
visit their community pharmacist 12 times more frequently than their primary
care provider.
● Studies have also shown that community pharmacist–led interventions have a
positive impact on a wide range of chronic diseases, including diabetes, CVD,
hyperlipidemia, and HIV/AIDS, and have demonstrated a decrease in medical
and healthcare costs
Education

Skills

Competency
Core responsibilities
● Patient care
● Operations
● Expanded roles
Patient care:

● Holistic patient management

● Medication access
● Medication therapy management
● Point-of-care testing and treatment
● Wellness care/vaccinations/travel consultations
● Counseling/patient education/community outreach
● Medication safety
Operations
● Processing prescription
● Team supervision
● Regulatory compliance
● Record-keeping
● Inventory management
● Fiscal management
● Compounding
● Program and protocol development
● Customer service
● Access to health data
● Health equity and health literacy
● Drug disposal
 Expanded roles
● Responding to symptoms of minor ailments
● Provide access to point-of-care testing for a variety of disease states (e.g.,
influenza, group A Streptococcus, HIV, hepatitis C, coronaviruses, and chronic
diseases).
● Health and wellness initiatives for patients (e.g., smoking cessation, weight
management, asthma, chronic heart failure, COPD, diabetes, hyperlipidemia,
hypertension, patient management, anticoagulation, medication adherence).
● Promotion of preventive care such as establishing a primary provider and
health screenings.
● Support patients in their wellness journey by use of technology such as health apps,
wearable devices, and other tools.
● Offer clinical services through in person, health applications and patient portals, and
telehealth options.
● Collaborate with clinicians to increase pharmacy-offered clinical services
● Enhance the patient experience by offering a team-based approach to the continuum
of care.
● Identify opportunities that not only advance patient care but also increase the
pharmacy department’s financial contribution to the organization.
● Evaluate and investigate community health issues.
● Educate the community about public health
● Encourage patient and clinician participation in research.
● Contribute through data collection.
 Summary of the areas where Community Pharmacist
involve in Public Health:
 Drug and Nutrition counseling
 Use of OTC and prescribed medicine
 Family planning couseling
 Pregnancy and Infant care
 Immunization
 Toxic agents Control
 Health and Safety.
 Control of accidental injuries.
 Prevention of smoking
 Prevention of alcoholism and drug abuse.
 Nutritional counseling
 Environmental protection.
 Weight control Programe
 Poisoning and cancer detection.
 Skills required by community
Pharmacist:
• Attentiveness
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate
complex information
• Organizational skills
• Commercial awareness
• Team-working
• The ability to meet professional standards
• The ability and drive to continue to learn.
Code of Ethics
• Morals may be defined as “the conduct of individuals in a
society is governed by the environment controls on the
one hand and the social customs and duties on the other”.

• For this purpose government and societies lay down a

code of conduct of decide that what is right and what is
wrong.
 Pharmacist in relation to
his Job:
Scope of Pharmaceutical services

Conduct of Pharmacy

Apprentice pharmacist

Handling of Prescription
 Pharmacist in relation to
his Trade:
Price charged from customers should be fair
Fair trade practice
Purchase of drugs
Advertising and displays
Hawking of drugs should not be encouraged
 Pharmacist in relation tohis
Profession:

Professional Vigilance

Law abiding citizen

Relationship with professional organization

Decorum and propriety

Pharmacist in relation tomedical profession:

Limitation of Professional activity

Connection to public
Conclusion:
The role of community pharmacists has evolved significantly.
Pharmacists in community-based settings are operational leaders for
the financial sustainability of healthcare institutions as well as
valuable clinicians in providing comprehensive management of
patient’s medication therapy in collaboration with other healthcare
colleagues.
 References

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/
https://pharmacy.wisc.edu/aihp

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