Conference Coverage Recap: American Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting and Exposition 2025
Check out our coverage from the American Pharmacists Association Annual Meeting and Exposition 2025!
Experts Debate Diabetes Care in Community Pharmacy vs Health Systems
Despite evidence of improved diabetes outcomes, all pharmacy settings are capable of having a significant impact on diabetes care, according to a presentation at the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition.1
Check out our coverage from the American Pharamcists Association Annual Meeting and Exposition 2025! | Image Credit: Nikish H/peopleimages.com - stock.adobe.com
“These 2 particular areas are where a lot of our pharmacists practice and provide diabetes education and medication management for patients with diabetes,” Heather Roth, BSPharm, RPh, said.1
Roth explained that pharmacists in these community settings are the facilitators in improving diabetes outcomes. However, the same could be said about clinical pharmacists, with evidence supporting their role in diabetes care.
Roth and Johnson stated that neither a clinical nor community pharmacy setting is preferred over the other for optimal diabetes care. Although each has specific advantages, utilizing the proper education, evidence, and recommendations will be crucial in improving diabetes outcomes. According to Roth, Johnson, and several other experts, the best way to conduct diabetes services is through collaboration and constant communication.
REFERENCE
Johnson H, Roth H. Moonshine vs Tennessee wine: debate on controversies in diabetes. Presented at: American Pharmacists Association 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition; March 21-24, 2025; Nashville, TN.
Pharmacists’ Role Grows With Reproductive Health Demand
Pharmacists are uniquely positioned to counsel patients on the use of all types of contraceptives, according to a session presented at the APhA 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition.1 Despite several barriers to access and expansion of pharmacy services, pharmacists staying informed on contraceptive guidelines is crucial to ensuring improved reproductive health in the US.
“Currently, there are 30 states that allow pharmacists to prescribe [contraceptives]. Barriers still exist, [which are] excluding pharmacists from expanding services. There have been updates [to Medical Eligibility Criteria for Contraceptive Use and US Selected Practice Recommendations for Contraceptive Use]. There’s the OTC norgestrel that is available, and it’s important to put the patient first,” Jasmine Cutler, PharmD, said.
Cutler covered several barriers impeding pharmacists from either prescribing or counseling their patients looking to use emergency or routine contraceptives for men and women. Although some states, providers, and patients have greater access to contraceptives than others, education on how these medications and products work is significantly important before pharmacists can even consider prescribing contraceptives or counseling patients on their use.
REFERENCE
Cutler J. Country roads to care: pharmacists’ role in reproductive health. Presented at: American Pharmacists Association 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition; March 21-24, 2025; Nashville, TN.
Expanding Into OTC Recommendations
It is not recommended that pharmacists rely solely on the use of large language models (LLMs) to manage OTC medications, according to a session presented at the APhA 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition.1 Despite the ability of artificial intelligence (AI) to predict patient outcomes when using OTC products, pharmacists are still the authority on medications and should avoid relying on LLMs because of their inconsistencies.
“[LLMs] are capable of answering self-care questions and generally providing relevant information; however, [there is] substantial variability in the responses. They provide potentially unsafe advice in specific situations,” Dan Krinsky, MS, BS, RPh, FAPhA, said.
With the current state of the pharmacy industry, pharmacists and pharmacy employees have experienced severe burnout, workforce shortages, and declining reimbursements for services, which has led to an unprecedented rate of pharmacy closures.
“We need to do a better job telling our story, telling people they need to come to us to ask questions,” concluded Krinsky.1 “We can’t allow people to rely on Google [Med-PaLM] and ChatGPT. . .for making decisions about their health care. Things are too serious.”
REFERENCE
Krinsky D, Ferreri S. Rockin’ remedies: your annual OTC update. Presented at: American Pharmacists Association 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition; March 21-24, 2025; Nashville, TN.
