The Future of Patient Care Services in Community Pharmacy | PQA 2025
A conversation with Michael Hegener, PharmD, BCACP, associate professor of Pharmacy at the University of Cincinnati, at PQA 2025.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacists emerged as critical healthcare providers, particularly in patient care services like vaccinations. Immunizations have significantly benefited community pharmacies and patients now view pharmacies as convenient, accessible locations for preventative care.
Looking forward, pharmacy services are likely to further expand into chronic disease management. These services will create a positive scenario for everyone involved: patients receive better care, healthcare payers see reduced costs, and pharmacies provide valuable care. However, implementing these services requires significant workflow changes, as traditional pharmacy models focus on dispensing medications.
Future services will likely require an appointment-based approach, especially for specialized care like disease state management or test-and-treat programs for conditions like strep throat and flu, according to Michael Hegener, PharmD, BCACP, associate professor of Pharmacy at the University of Cincinnati James L Winkle College of Pharmacy.
At the PQA 2025 Annual Meeting, held May 19 to 21 in Tampa, Florida, Drug Topics® sat down with Hegener to discuss which patient care services currently have the greatest impact in community pharmacy settings, which services hold promise for the future, what workflow changes are essential to support the expansion of patient care services in community pharmacies, and what metrics are most meaningful in assessing the effectiveness of patient care services provided by community pharmacies.
“Moving forward, [patient care] services will have a big impact,” Hegener said. “It will likely continue to be immunizations, but also ones where we get buy in from the patient, the pharmacy and a payer. They most likely will be for chronic disease states where the patients need a little follow up, some extra care and more touch points with the pharmacist. That way, we help make a difference to the patient. The payer is happy to be seeing cost reductions and savings, and then the pharmacy is providing a valuable service. It's a win-win-win.”
