From Barriers to Bridges: Redefining The Pharmacist's Role in Reaching Every Patient

At the Fall 2025 TPSS Summit, Shantel Upshaw Houston, PharmD, interim executive vIce president of the National Pharmaceutical Association (NPhA), addressed critical challenges facing pharmacy professionals today. Drawing from her personal and professional experience, Upshaw highlighted the systemic barriers that impact health care delivery and patient access.

A second-generation Jamaican American pharmacist, Upshaw worked across various pharmacy settings, including community pharmacies, consulting, and professional associations like the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA). Her current role with NPHA allows her to advocate for pharmacy professionals and students. She focused on the multiple challenges confronting pharmacy, including pharmacy deserts, health care access limitations, student loan burdens, and communication gaps between generations of health care providers. Upshaw emphasized that these challenges are systemic rather than individual failures.

The NPHA, an organization founded in 1947, supports pharmacists through professional development, advocacy, and annual scholarships totaling over $40,000 for student members. Through its student arm, SNPHA, the organization works to develop future pharmacy leadership. Upshaw's key message centered on transforming barriers into opportunities by promoting collaboration, cultural humility, and empathetic patient care. She encouraged pharmacists to look beyond traditional professional boundaries and consider how they can actively address health care inequities. Her recommendations included practical steps like improving community outreach, leveraging technology for patient communication, and building cross-organizational alliances to address health care challenges more effectively.

Explore more of our coverage from the Total Pharmacy Solutions Summit Fall 2025: Patient Access and Education.