The pharmacist’s role in COVID-19 response efforts

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, direct patient care by pharmacists has been shown to potentially improve various patient outcomes. The Trump administration recently issued guidance permitting pharmacists to order and administer COVID-19 tests, possibly preempting conflicting state laws. Pharmacy stakeholders are also encouraging the administration to allow pharmacies to be included in the vaccine distribution plan. During the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, pharmacists played a role in the medical response as mass immunizers. However, professional scope of practice, legal scope of practice (SOP), and provider status are widely divergent across the United States, limiting pharmacist participation in administering a future COVID-19 vaccine. Increasing the pharmacist’s role will rely on coordination between both the federal government and state legislatures. To ensure reimbursement parity, payers, including the federal government, could formally recognize pharmacist-delivered services. Ultimately, the federal government can improve recognition of pharmacists as health care providers and thereby encourage states to expand legal SOP through large changes such as for example, provider status recognition, or through smaller steps, including reimbursement for certain pharmacist-delivered services. To enhance care coordination, improve outcomes, and aid in pandemic response, pharmacists will need continued expansion of professional and legal SOP and adequate reimbursement across markets.