SDOH
Elizabeth Briand
Today’s community pharmacists are experiencing a shift in the type of care they are being asked to provide. Far from simply dispensing medications, pharmacists have become key players in a growing trend toward community-based health care, addressing broader patient needs, according to a Wolters Kluwer Pharmacy Next consumer survey.
Access to health care remains a challenge for most Americans, and more of them today are turning to their local pharmacy to fill their gaps in care. The survey reported that nearly 60% of Americans are likely to seek nonemergency care at pharmacies.
A changing approach to helping others
As frontline advisors, pharmacists are able to guide patients to physical and mental health care resources. They can provide counsel on lifestyle. They can destigmatize conversations about sensitive subjects such as obesity or sexually transmitted diseases. They can partner with local agencies and care centers to refer patients for social services. They serve as patient advocates, helping bridge gaps between providers and insurers.
It is a long list of duties for today’s pharmacists, but it also reflects the larger opportunity they have to make a difference for patients.
This broader role is reflected in the concept of “person-centered care,” which looks at the patient’s experience, beyond disease, illness, and pharmacotherapy, to examine the external elements that may be affecting their health.
“[Person-centered care] is a more realistic view of how our patients think about themselves, and it’s more reflective of the things they care about,” said Anthony W. Olson, PharmD, PhD, adjunct assistant professor at the University of Minnesota—College of Pharmacy in Duluth, MN.
Instead of thinking “what’s the matter with the patient,” person-centered care instead focuses on “what matters to the patient.”
As the Wolters Kluwer survey noted, more pharmacies are doing just that, offering services such as immunizations, point-of-care screenings to help manage chronic diseases, and medication therapy management to improve safety and reduce adverse drug events.
Medication adherence is another key factor in overall health, one that can be affected by a number of nonmedical factors. Person-focused care “takes into account all those things—who the patient is, what’s going on in their life, what are the practical factors involved—that really make a difference for whether a patient chooses to take their medication or not, or if they can take their medication or not,” said Olson.
Social determinants of health can be a big part of the equation, too.
“If you think about folks facing housing insecurity, they may not have a refrigerator where they can store their medications or a place where they can keep their medications secure,” said Olson.
Food insecurity is another factor. For a person with diabetes, what happens if they lose their food benefits? How will that affect their insulin needs?
Although social determinants of health are important in ensuring the needs of patients are met, person-centered care is more comprehensive than that.
“[It] nudges pharmacists to more explicitly accommodate their care to the conditions where individuals grow, work, live, and age,” said Olson.
New awareness, new levels of care
To best address community-based health care needs—and not sacrifice their own well-being—pharmacists need the right resources and partnerships. Authors of the Wolters Kluwer insights article recognize that pharmacists “are constantly being asked to do more with less” and suggest the implementation of software solutions to streamline workflows and ensure accurate decision-making.
The National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine also has created a tool for health care providers that outlines social care activities to support person-centered care. The tool, called Social Care Framework, focuses on awareness, adjustment, assistance, alignment, and advocacy and involves everyone from pharmacists and clinicians to health care systems and social care organizations.
“Person-centered care is not just a semantic change,” said Olson. “It’s a way of being conscious of how we’re thinking about the people we’re serving. It’s a check to remind ourselves of all the other different factors that make a person a person and how it relates to what we’re doing for them.”
Today’s pharmacists will continue to play a major role in addressing those factors, ensuring accessibility, trust, and quality care for the patients who rely on them each day. ■