Pharmacist-Led Community Health Interventions Provide Practical, Effective Treatment for Older Adults

Through community health interventions geared toward older adult populations, clinical pharmacists proved their ability to provide practical and effective guidance on managing patients’ medications and chronic diseases, according to a study published in Pharmacy.

Despite further research necessary in understanding its long-term impacts, preliminary results from the researchers’ Pharm2Home initiative were significantly promising and could serve as a precursor for the development of more pharmacist-led clinical services.

“According to the National Council on Aging, 56 million Americans are 65 years or older, with nearly 95% experiencing at least one chronic condition, such as diabetes, arthritis, or heart disease,” wrote the authors of the study.¹ “Additionally, 80% of this population have 2 or more chronic conditions. Furthermore, the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, conducted by the CDC, revealed that 71% of adults aged 60 and above faced challenges in utilizing printed materials; 80% encountered difficulties with documents featuring forms and charts; and 68% experienced challenges in interpreting numbers and performing calculations.”

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With chronic disease prevalence so common among the older adult population, their abilities to care for themselves and understand how to improve their health wanes with age. Due to this occurrence, and the aforementioned statistics regarding those 65 and over, researchers agree that a “grassroots” intervention for improving older adults’ health literacy and disease management is crucial.

According to an AARP survey, over 33% of all adults 50 and older say they are not confident with their digital literacy skills, explaining that as age increases, digital literacy decreases.² Alongside health and digital literacy concerns in this population, adults 60 and over are also susceptible to polypharmacy—which is the regular and concurrent use of 5 or more prescription medications.³

With around one-third of US adults over 60 prescribed at least 5 medications,⁴ there is a significant need and opportunity for pharmacists to step in and help older patients manage their medication regimens and chronic disease states in an accessible community setting.¹ Among emerging pharmacist-led services and an expansion of their scope of practice through things like medication therapy management (MTM), pharmacists have begun to set themselves apart as key providers in older adults’ health journeys.

“Our single-arm, post-intervention-only pilot implementation evaluation aimed to quantify the uptake of chronic disease management recommendations provided by clinical pharmacists during MTM sessions at community events,” continued the authors of the current study.¹

In the researchers’ pilot study, they engaged clinical pharmacists through the facilitation of the Pharm2Home Initiative, which is a pharmacist-led program for improving disease management and pharmacotherapy utilization among older adults in Solano County, California. The program’s goal is to reduce health inequality and promote the importance of health equity. More specifically, study researchers hoped that Pharm2Home would help empower older adults in their health journeys.

Through their evaluation of the single-arm postintervention implementation period, they observed the Pharm2Home Initiative from January 2022 through August 2023. During the initiative, pharmacists met with patients for MTM sessions in their community, covering topics of expired or duplicated medications, incorrect medication use, consultations on medication management, immunizations, and lifestyle adjustments.

After MTM consultations, participants were then asked to report back on the outcomes that resulted from the pharmacist-patient sessions and state whether or not pharmacists’ recommendations were accepted, declined, or modified. Participants were only eligible to participate in the program if they managed 1 or more chronic diseases and resided in a low-income senior housing facility in Solano County.

The final analysis featured a total of 65 participants (mean age, 74.5 years old; 70.8% women).

“Preliminary data show that MTM services and chronic disease education have been well received,” they wrote.¹ “Almost all participants are willing to elevate our recommendations to the next level, which could potentially impact their management of chronic diseases. The participants’ desire to communicate our recommendations to their clinicians for modifying their chronic disease management approaches indicates their trust in our clinical judgment and confidence in the encounters.”

Through the pharmacist-led MTM sessions, participating pharmacists uncovered 118 medication-related issues among the 65 patients screened. These issues encapsulated a variety of medication challenges that patients without proper pharmacist guidance may encounter, including adverse drug reactions, nonindicated medications, duplicated prescriptions, and more.

With patient trust and willingness stemming from the pharmacists’ expertise, the study authors agree that pharmacist-led MTM is a necessary service for the older adult population. While further research and development of Pharm2Home is needed, the researchers highlighted a promising step forward in expanding pharmacists’ scope of practice, especially within an underserved population in need of improved health outcomes.

“Although the Pharm2Home Initiative Community Health Arm has yielded some promising preliminary results in enhancing participants’ understanding of their chronic conditions and improving medication management, further research is necessary to assess the long-term impact of the intervention on health outcomes and the management of chronic diseases,” concluded the authors.¹ “Although the findings are considered exploratory and the impact remains to be determined in longer-term, larger studies, this evaluation approach has highlighted the practicality and efficacy of community health interventions led by clinical pharmacists in enhancing medication comprehension and chronic disease self-management among vulnerable older adults.”

READ MORE: Beyond the Counter: How Pharmacists Are Transforming Patient Care

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REFERENCES

1. Young CF, Shubrook C, Myung C, et al. Community health empowerment through clinical pharmacy: a single-arm, post-intervention-only pilot implementation evaluation. Pharmacy. 2025;13(5):141. https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy13050141

2. AARP tech trends and older adults: digital literacy skills critical to tech usage. Candoo Tech. March 29, 2024. Accessed October 3, 2025. https://www.candootech.com/blog-page/aarp-tech-trends-and-older-adults-digital-literacy-skills-critical-to-tech-usage

3. Varghese D, Koya HH, Ishida C, et al. Polypharmacy. National Library of Medicine. February 12, 2024. Accessed October 3, 2025. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532953/

4. The dangers of polypharmacy and the case for deprescribing in older adults. National Institute on Aging. August 24, 2021. Accessed October 3, 2025. https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/dangers-polypharmacy-and-case-deprescribing-older-adults