Pharmacy HIV CT
A New Era: Pharmacists Transforming HIV Outcomes in Community Pharmacies

Released: August 20, 2019

Expiration: August 18, 2020

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It is a new dawn in the pharmacy profession. The days of the local pharmacy as simply a prescription filling hub are over, and the pharmacist’s role no longer revolves solely around dispensing medication through sticking labels, filling bottles, and billing. Legislation in many states throughout the United States recognizes pharmacists as healthcare providers, finally acknowledging the broader clinical roles of the pharmacist beyond dispensing medication. For example, California enacted a law in October 2013 recognizing pharmacists as healthcare providers. As a result, the California State Board of Pharmacy created the advanced practice pharmacist license. Similarly, Montana and North Carolina license clinical pharmacist practitioners, and New Mexico licenses pharmacist clinicians. These licenses allow for the pharmacist provider to order and interpret tests related to drug therapy and initiate or modify medications under a collaborative practice agreement.

How Can Pharmacy Providers Improve HIV Care?
The role of the community HIV specialist pharmacist is an essential key to maximizing patient outcomes in our often disjointed healthcare system. As pharmacists go through this metamorphosis in healthcare and in pharmacy scope of practice, opportunities for improving HIV care abound. As experts in drug–drug interactions, adherence management, benefits navigation, Medication Therapy Management, and Chronic Care Management, we are able to improve patient outcomes, improve quality of life, and decrease healthcare costs.

The Substantial Impact of Nonadherence to Treatment
Increasing access to pharmacist healthcare providers with expertise in adherence management could have a profound effect on

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As a pharmacist, how likely are you to seek out collaborative practice agreements with physician providers in your area that would allow you to expand your roles in providing HIV care and prevention services?
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