By Matt Kuhrt
Pharmacists could be a key to address the physician shortage, but questions remain about exactly how much of the load they can--or should--carry, according to an article from UPI.
A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine tracked patients whose pharmacists took the lead in helping them to manage chronic diseases. The results indicated "effects similar to those of usual care for resource utilization" and a possible improvement when it comes to reaching specific goals around glycemic, blood pressure or lipid levels.
While these results offer some hope for areas struggling with a lack of primary care physicians, the study's authors caution that it will take further research to get a clear idea of exactly how patient care might best be redistributed between physicians and pharmacists. For example, Timothy Wilt, M.D., one of the study's coauthors, points out that the data don't support any conclusions that patients under a pharmacist's care live longer or better than those cared for by physicians. Patients under pharmacists' care also received more medications than those served by physicians, a trend whose significance is unclear, according to Wilt.
Medicare has targeted pharmacists to drive care in underserved areas as a way of accelerating value-based care provision, and a Swedish study has demonstrated improved care quality for dementia patients spurred by the involvement of pharmacists on clinical healthcare teams, according to reporting by our sister publication, FierceHealthcare.
Increasing the scope of pharmacists' healthcare provision would drive efficiency by reducing upfront costs, since pharmacists are paid less than physicians, and by freeing up physicians to focus on more complex cases, said Wilt.
To learn more:
- see the study
- read the article