Clinical Services

This vaccine season, the biggest challenge facing pharmacies isn't getting patients through the door. It’s what happens once they're already there.Cold and flu season is right around the corner, and pharmacies across the country are gearing up for the busiest time of year.

Pharmacists' to-do lists aren’t getting shorter. Especially in community pharmacies where pharmacists are often the most accessible healthcare professional—providing patient care and education every day requires time, energy, and resources, often with minimal to no reimbursement.

In a world of swirling news stories, voices vying for attention, and misinformation around every corner, patients need someone to cut through the noise. For many, that voice is the pharmacist.

It’s National Immunization Awareness Month—and with it comes an important reminder for pharmacists: it’s time to prepare for vaccination season. As the fall and winter virus season begin, pharmacies see an influx of vaccination requests and need amongst their community. And while vaccinations are a critical preventative health initiative across children and adults alike, there is great need amongst the growing elderly population to be vaccinated quickly and safely.

When a clinical message pops up in your pharmacy software—maybe it’s about reminding a patient to get vaccinated for shingles or flagging their 45-day+ gap in therapy—there’s more going on than computerized triggers and drug messaging.

As a pharmacist, you play a pivotal role in ensuring communities are protected through immunizations. It’s more important than ever to be fully prepared and equipped to offer efficient, safe, and compliant vaccination services. Read on to learn how you can improve your pharmacy’s vaccine preparedness and ensure that your staff is ready to serve your community.

Many people don’t realize that pharmacists compound drugs. My unscientific survey of several of my non-healthcare-affiliated friends revealed that almost all had no idea that pharmacists were still engaged in “chemistry,” as one friend put it. One person responded, “mortar and pestle?” which I still believe he got from Dr. Google.

Industry advocacy groups like the NCPA aren’t shy about saying it: providing vaccinations should be a core competency of any community pharmacy. Patient, public, and business health all benefit from pharmacists providing vaccinations.

Is it strep or the flu? When they’re sick, your patients want the answer as soon as they can get it, and the shortage of primary care physicians makes you a logical, trusted, and easy alternative.