Opinion

Pharmacy is a profession that is in the midst of perhaps the greatest changes experienced in more than 50 years, according to Michael Hogue, president-elect designate of the American Pharmacists Association.

As technology continues to transform the way people live, healthcare professionals are seeing the impact this transformation is having on patients’ expectations on how they access healthcare services and how those services are delivered, according to Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner.

The conversation at the pharmacy counter traditionally has been about which pills to take when, but with advances in medical science, a new frontier — biologics and biosimilars — is flourishing, explains Chip Davis, president and CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines. 

Fred Mayer, CEO of Pharmacists Planning Services, explains how as the political healthcare debate rages on, many of the “first-world” problems that cause illness and compromise our quality of life are problems pharmacists can help solve.

William Sieber, president of E. F. Bavis and Associates, explains how the pharmacist-patient relationship requires the sharing of concise and detailed information, which can include times, dosage amounts, possible interactions with other medications, and more.

Simplifying the pharmacy payment model is an enormous undertaking that will necessitate participation from all players in the prescription medication channels, according to Doug Hoey, CEO of the National Community Pharmacists Association.

Chris Fitzmaurice, director of industry data resources at ScriptPro, explains why pharmacists should accept a greater measure of responsibility and continue to accept the demands of medical professionals, as well as expand on what it means to provide pharmaceutical care.

This will be a year of major shifts in pharmacy, as new players enter the field and adoption of pharmacy innovation continues to increase, said Scott Seidelmann, executive vice president and chief commercialization officer at Omnicell.