Community Pharmacies Can Provide Nutritional Services, but a Limited Number Have Them

A limited number of community pharmacies are providing nutrition-related services, despite an increase in pharmacies with registered dietitians, according to data in an article published in the Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition. The investigators of the study explore how to optimize the role of the pharmacist and registered dietitians to enhance patient outcomes through counseling efforts.¹

“We found that pharmacists and dietitians shared the same perspectives on the importance of screening, assessment, and intervention processes for both nutritional disorders and lifestyle-related diseases to facilitate nutritional interventions in community pharmacies,” the study authors said.¹ “In addition, the following challenges in promoting nutritional interventions were identified: establishing nutritional intervention flow, educating health care providers, publicizing to patients, and implementing institutional reforms.”

In a review published in Proceedings, results showed that pharmacist-driven interventions improved anthropometric and clinical outcomes related to patients’ nutrition. Further, the interventions resulted in dietary behavior changes. The review authors stated that there is a need for interventions to address nutrition and dietary health goals, especially with holistic approaches to health and food.²

In general, pharmacists are playing a bigger role in community-based care and patient outcomes, according to Wolters Kluwer. Pharmacies are highly accessible, and patients tend to trust community pharmacists beyond just dispensing, with 58% of Americans more likely to seek nonemergency care at pharmacies. Pharmacists are often on the front line to counsel and advocate for patients and mediate between patients, providers, and insurance companies.³

In the current study, investigators aimed to determine ways to enhance nutritional interventions at the community pharmacy level. They conducted qualitative interviews, which included 15 respondents. Of the respondents, 5 pharmacists completed training related to health support, 5 were working with a registered dietitian, and 5 were registered dietitians employed at community pharmacies. Interviews were conducted between May and June 2022, lasted approximately 1 hour, and included 2 main categories: patients with malnutrition and patients with lifestyle-related diseases.¹

According to the results, pharmacists and dietitians acknowledged that older adults and patients have misconceptions about or poor knowledge of diet. Furthermore, patients who typically give up on dieting usually need interventions for lifestyle-related diseases. Interventions identified by investigators included correcting dietary misconceptions, providing guidance on a balanced diet, and offering advice on the importance of protein. Pharmacists in particular can help identify and assess at-risk patients during medication reconciliation, screen for malnutrition, and check meal frequency and food awareness. The investigators also found that pharmacists can help patients who have difficulties swallowing and have financial barriers regarding nutrition.¹

Interestingly, pharmacists viewed lifestyle modification similarly to medication adherence and preferred to refer patients with malnutrition to a registered dietitian, as it is more challenging to treat in comparison with lifestyle-related diseases. However, investigators acknowledged that incorporating nutrition into the workflow was difficult for pharmacists.¹

“To enhance the quality of nutritional interventions, both pharmacists and dietitians indicated the importance of the flow of screening, assessment, and educating patients who need nutritional interventions,” the study authors concluded.¹ “Pharmacists need to focus on screening and assessing at-risk patients and collaborating with dietitians to improve their knowledge.”

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REFERENCES

1. Kumaki R, Hatamoto M, Iida R, Kishimoto K. Toward enhanced nutritional interventions in community pharmacies: personal attitude construct analysis. J Health Popul Nutr. 2025;44(1):287. doi:10.1186/s41043-025-01035-6

2. Acar G, Frost R, Kaur Bhamra S, Heinrich M. Community pharmacy-delivered interventions for nutrition and diet-related health promotion. Proceedings. 2023;91(1):274. doi:10.3390/proceedings2023091274

3. Community-centric care: the pharmacist’s role in bridging health care gaps. Wolters Kluwer. April 15, 2025. Accessed August 15, 2025. https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/community-centric-care-the-pharmacists-role-bridging-healthcare-gaps