Red tape, reimbursements hurt pharmacists' scope of practice

Regulatory obstacles create a broad gap between pharmacists' legal scope of practice and the knowledge and training at their disposal, according to Business Insider, potentially hurting patient outcomes. For example, pharmacological graduates usually have doctoral level training and are versed in preventive care, wellness and chronic disease management. They're also often more accessible to patients than primary care providers. Despite this, fewer than half of states allow pharmacists to extensively interact with patients, take their medical histories or order certain laboratory tests. Even beyond scope of practice, Medicare reimburses pharmacists based on how many prescriptions they fill, disincentivizing them from providing more in-depth treatment. Article