The Pharmacist’s Role in Travel Health Triage and Risk Assessment

An expert discusses how a community pharmacy, even without a dedicated travel clinic designation, must establish clear guidelines for managing travel vaccine requests. The pharmacist must decide whether to administer the vaccine or refer the patient to a specialized travel health center. This decision is based on the complexity of the patient’s travel itinerary, the individual’s health status, vaccine availability, and the pharmacist’s level of travel health training.

Simple, common travel vaccines (eg, hepatitis A/B, Tdap) can often be provided on-site, according to Jeffery Goad, PharmD, MPH, president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. However, complex, multidestination itineraries or those requiring less-common vaccines necessitate referral to ensure the patient receives comprehensive, expert counseling and care.

For less common, high-cost vaccines such as prophylaxis for rabies or yellow fever, the pharmacist is responsible for a critical risk assessment to justify the expense and necessity. This involves a thorough evaluation of the patient’s specific destination(s), the duration of the trip, planned activities (eg, exposure to animals, rural travel), and the current disease epidemiology of the region. The pharmacist must consult reliable, up-to-date resources to perform a risk-benefit analysis. This process ensures the patient receives appropriate protection while avoiding unnecessary cost for low-risk exposure, reinforcing the pharmacist’s role as a vital travel health counselor.