How Pharmacists Reshape Health Care Access and Drive the Future of Patient Care

As we turn the page and welcome the start of a new year, it is a time for reflection, planning, and setting ambitious goals for the future—especially when it comes to health and wellness.

In this annual period of renewed focus on personal well-being, the role of the pharmacist becomes uniquely important. These highly trained and most accessible health care professionals are ready to partner with patients right where they live. Whether helping to organize complex medication regimens, offering timely vaccinations, providing smoking cessation counseling, or simply advising on achievable lifestyle adjustments, pharmacists are on the front lines, helping individuals successfully launch their health goals for the year ahead.

In the cover story, Bob Kronemyer examines the critical, yet challenged, path for community pharmacies to evolve into indispensable health care hubs, moving beyond dispensing to offer vital clinical services such as vaccinations, chronic disease management, and polypharmacy reviews for seniors. He emphasizes that achieving sustainable, integrated care hinges on securing medical provider status, addressing reimbursement complexities, and establishing seamless data exchange with primary care providers.

In a Q&A, John C. Goodman, president and founder of the Goodman Institute for Public Policy Research, discusses the potential impact of TrumpRx, a broad initiative promoting direct-to-consumer prescription drug sales and lower cash prices. Goodman discusses how this model leverages mechanisms such as health savings accounts to secure deep discounts for individuals, potentially disrupting the traditional roles of pharmacy benefit managers and reshaping the current pharmacy landscape.

Lastly, Brian Nowosielski discusses a milestone in combating the opioid epidemic, with the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act of 2025 being signed into law. This legislation empowers pharmacists, after specialized training, to independently prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder. This removes previous federal barriers and puts pharmacists on an equal footing with physicians, thereby increasing patient access to life-saving treatments.

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