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

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

Sole community independent pharmacists provide essential services to residents of small towns and isolated communities. Anecdotal reports indicate their role within the local health care community is often multi-faceted, extending beyond the provision of prescription and nonprescription medications at their retail stores. In 2008, we surveyed 401 community pharmacists that are the only retail provider in their community to document their extended relationships with other health care 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 health care organizations that require pharmaceutical support i (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.