Community Pharmacies Expand Their Role in Travel Medicine

As international travel continues to rebound, community pharmacies are becoming an increasingly important destination for travelers seeking vaccines, preventive medications, and destination-specific health guidance before departure. For pharmacists, travel medicine represents an opportunity to expand clinical services while strengthening patient relationships.

“Travel medicine has really grown out of pharmacists’ ability to immunize and provide travel vaccines,” Hannah Fish, PharmD, senior director of strategic initiatives for the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), said. “Several pharmacists have made that a robust part of their business, and many have expanded beyond vaccines into preventive products and posttravel care.”

Rather than simply administering immunizations, many independent pharmacies are building comprehensive travel health offerings. These can include consultations, OTC travel wellness products, education on destination-specific risks, and recommendations for disease prevention.

“One advantage independent pharmacies have is the ability to personalize care,” Fish said. “They’re able to provide a full consultation, understand where a person or family is traveling and what they’ll be doing, and tailor recommendations specifically to that itinerary. That level of personalization can be difficult in a higher-volume setting.”

Justin Wilson, PharmD, owner of several Oklahoma pharmacies and chair of NCPA’s board of directors, has been offering travel medicine services for 2 decades.

“I think we first started providing travel health services back in 2005,” Wilson said. “At the time, I believe [mine] was the first pharmacy in Oklahoma to obtain the necessary certifications.”

Although travel medicine is receiving increased attention today, Wilson noted that independent pharmacies have long been leaders in the space.

“It’s not necessarily new,” he said. “Independent pharmacists were really the first to move into travel medicine. The chains came along later, but it’s still primarily independent pharmacies that are offering these services.”

Demand has increased as more Americans travel internationally and seek convenient access to preventive health care. Fish believes community pharmacies are well positioned to meet that need because patients already trust their local pharmacist.

“We’re seeing pharmacists create travel wellness packages that include vaccines, antinausea medications, insect repellents, and other travel essentials,” she said. “It’s another way pharmacists are helping patients prepare before they leave.”

Education is also a key component. Fish encourages pharmacies to market travel health services well before peak travel periods through websites, social media, and in-store signage.

“If someone is traveling internationally, they need to be thinking weeks ahead, not days ahead,” she said. “Making patients aware that these services are available is critical.”

Andrea Giamalva, MD, chief medical officer at Experity, noted that travelers are increasingly turning to pharmacies and urgent care centers because traditional travel clinics have become less available and primary care appointments can be difficult to schedule on short notice.

“Many travelers don’t think about travel health until just a few weeks—or even days—before departure,” Giamalva said. “Convenient health care settings such as pharmacies are well positioned to provide vaccinations, preventive medications, and travel counseling when patients need them.”

Respiratory infections remain among the most common illnesses seen during travel, including influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus. Gastrointestinal illnesses, particularly norovirus and traveler’s diarrhea, also remain common. Depending on the destination, travelers may also face risks from malaria, dengue, chikungunya, Zika virus, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever.

“Overall, while respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses remain the most common concerns, an individual’s risk depends on where they’re traveling, what they’ll be doing, and whether they’ve received the appropriate preventive care beforehand,” Giamalva said.

Successfully integrating travel medicine into pharmacy practice requires planning.

“The first thing pharmacists need to do is understand the laws in their state,” Wilson said. “Every state is different regarding what pharmacists are authorized to provide.”

For instance, Oklahoma offers considerable flexibility for vaccinations, Wilson noted, while other states continue expanding pharmacists’ authority through test-and-treat programs and collaborative practice agreements.

Despite reimbursement challenges, travel medicine can still make business sense.

“We’ve found that many pharmacies offer a consultation fee in addition to vaccines,” Wilson said. “We review every country a patient is visiting [and] discuss vaccine recommendations, malaria prevention, and safe food and water practices. Patients see value in that personalized consultation.”

Fish agreed that consultation-based services have become an important component of successful travel medicine programs.

“Vaccines may be covered through insurance, but many pharmacies are building cash-based consultation services that allow them to customize recommendations for each traveler,” she said.

Technology is also helping pharmacists and other providers deliver more comprehensive care. Giamalva noted digital clinical decision support tools now provide real-time information on disease outbreaks, vaccine recommendations, and country-specific entry requirements. Electronic health records help identify immunization gaps, while telehealth has expanded access to pretravel consultations for patients who may not live near dedicated travel clinics.

Looking ahead, travel medicine is expected to become a larger component of community pharmacy practice.

“I think it’s absolutely an opportunity for more pharmacists,” Fish said. “People have more information than ever, but they still want a trusted health care professional to help them prepare before they travel. Community pharmacists are uniquely positioned to fill that role.”