Community Pharmacists Possess Skills, Knowledge in POC Testing for Strep Throat

Community pharmacist respondents said that point-of-care (POC) for strep throat is significantly common at their pharmacies, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association.¹ Researchers found that pharmacists’ organizational and clinical skills, as well as their knowledge, contributed to successfully providing POC services.

“Community pharmacists play a crucial role in expanding access to POC [testing] and treatment for respiratory infections, particularly in underserved areas,” wrote authors of a study published in Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy.² “Their involvement can lead to improved public health outcomes by ensuring early and appropriate treatment.”

Indeed, as the literature has stated since the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacists have had a significant role in ensuring access to POC testing in community pharmacies. However, with government regulations arising as key barriers to access POC testing, the pharmacists’ ability to provide these services significantly varies by state. According to a study in Innovations in Pharmacy, the legal authority behind laboratory testing laws in the US can often outweigh states’ pharmacy practice regulations.³

Researchers believe these findings can significantly bolster development of future community pharmacy services. | image credit: Alexander Raths / stock.adobe.com

READ MORE: California and West Coast States Release Recommendations on Respiratory Vaccination

Authors of the current study define POC testing as “testing to support clinical decision-making, performed by qualified health care professionals during or very close to the time of the clinical consultation with the results known at the time of decision-making.” And for this study specifically, with acute upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) like noninvasive strep throat significantly prominent across populations, researchers wanted to better understand the pharmacist’s role in testing for respiratory infections.¹

“Standards of practice for performing POC testing services in community pharmacies were established in Alberta in 2018,” wrote authors of the study. “Data on point-of-care testing has been previously reported in community pharmacies in Alberta, but information on which tests are being administered, particularly those related to respiratory tract infections, and their frequencies is not known.”

With its focus on Alberta pharmacists who have been providing POC testing for almost a decade now, the researchers’ goal was to determine the clinical services that community pharmacists offer to patients with acute URTIs, explore the types of POC tests performed, uncover differences between clinical practices, and investigate pharmacists’ confidence.¹

To understand the evolution of POC testing for URTIs, researchers conducted an anonymous online survey sent out to over 4000 community pharmacists registered with the Alberta College of Pharmacy during February of 2024. The survey was designed to assess screening and demographic information from participants as well as their practice characteristics. Furthermore, researchers also provided questions on the services provided to patients with URTIs while also asking about pharmacists’ knowledge, beliefs, and confidence when it comes to POC testing.

Following survey distribution to Alberta pharmacists in early 2024, a total of 370 responses (46% under 40 years old, 65.4% women) were included in the final analysis.

“In our sample of Alberta community pharmacists, about 65% provided POC testing for URTI and strep throat testing was the most common,” they continued.¹ “Additionally, around 40% of pharmacists provided POC testing for other conditions, most commonly A_1C and lipid testing.”

Not only did community pharmacists in Alberta mostly provide URTI POC testing for conditions like strep throat, but they were also shown to offer additional POC testing for nonURTI and respiratory infections. Regarding organizational- and knowledge-based skills, pharmacists agreed that they are significantly competent at implementing these services in community pharmacy practice.

They did, however, uncover some negative results regarding pharmacists’ resources and confidence in providing these services. Differences were unveiled in relation to the resources, training, and knowledge of providing the service. Community pharmacists also reported low confidence in performing physical assessments, analyzing rapid molecular tests, and performing nasal swabs.

Amid the positive and negative results surrounding community pharmacists’ ability to conduct POC testing, researchers believe the aforementioned findings can significantly bolster development of future community pharmacy services that care for patients with URTIs as well as other conditions.

“This survey provides a snapshot of community pharmacist provision of POC testing in Alberta,” they concluded.¹ “It indicates that strep throat testing is particularly common among our sample of respondents. These findings could aid in the development of support tools and the selection of strategies to foster the implementation and sustainability of these services over time.”

READ MORE: Respiratory Resource Center

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REFERENCES

1. Abdellatife OE, Simpson SH, Schindel TJ, et al. Practices and implementation factors of point-of-care testing for acute upper respiratory tract infections by community pharmacists in Alberta: a cross-sectional survey. JAPhA. September 19, 2025:102927. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japh.2025.102927

2. Witry M. The role of community pharmacists in point-of-care testing and treatment for influenza and group A streptococcus -a narrative review using ecological systems theory. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2025;21(4):205-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sapharm.2025.01.007

3. Adams AJ, Klepser DG, Klepser ME, et al. Pharmacy-based point-of-care testing: how a “standard of sare” approach can facilitate sustainability. Innov Pharm. 2021 Sep 22;12(4):10.24926/iip.v12i4.4290. doi: 10.24926/iip.v12i4.4290.