Aligning patient care teams through pharmacy integration

Expanding the clinical role for Pharmacists can reinvigorate the profession, attract new professionals, and improve patient access

In many settings, the pharmacy has been siloed off from the clinical setting and the critical health data needed to make informed decisions. This has been an impediment to improved outcomes and has contributed to burnout within the profession. Unaddressed burnout can quickly balloon into decreased operational efficiency, delays in patient service, high turnover rates, and increased errors—a severe threat to patient safety. A 2022 review of data of over 11,000 pharmacists across eight countries revealed over half experienced burnout.

Pharmacy staff burnout is a multi-faceted problem with multiple root causes for staff. Some of the associated risk factors included:

• Excessive workload
• Poor work/life balance
• High patient and prescription volumes
• Less professional experience

While these factors might seem to diverge, healthcare leaders can address them all by identifying opportunities to communicate health data and improve decision support across the healthcare ecosystem—integrating this knowledge into workflows in a way that connects entities, supports patient safety, and contributes to wellness for both clinicians and patients.

Enable pharmacists as a pillar of the care team to address burnout and access strategic benefits

Incorporating pharmacy into care delivery is the key to improving efficiency in a way that counters burnout while still improving patient outcomes. Healthcare leaders can tap into this potential by giving pharmacy professionals access to the same educational content resources and customizable workflows that their colleagues are using in other settings. Three strategic decisions are the foundation of meaningful progress toward this goal.

Prioritize educational content and information access

Educational content supercharges efficiency in pharmacists’ responsibilities. Pharmacists need instant access to the most contemporary educational content to stay in synch with treating physicians and further ground the pharmacy as a heart of consistent patient communication. Decision support technology that facilitates enhanced information access for pharmacists is critical. It supports clinician awareness around topics, including where prescriptions are being filled and how staff are driving adherence and safety.

Support safety through aligned workflows

Patient safety requires workflows that are consistent across the care team. Pharmacists need workflows that are uniform across care settings to support patient compliance with medication, reduce adverse outcomes and minimize readmissions. When the pharmacy team has these tools, leadership reduces the risk of medication errors, enhances safety, and supports operational efficiency.

Software like UpToDate stands out largely because of its clinical care pathways and their potential in a modernized pharmacy. These interactive guides help individual clinicians make informed and efficient decisions around specific clinical questions. For pharmacists who are already struggling with staff burnout and inefficiency, this type of standardization can be highly useful in reducing workload and unnecessary tasks.

Equip every stakeholder

Pharmacists have consistently topped lists of the most trusted healthcare professionals. When other clinicians connect through shared educational content and decision-making tools, they tap into that trust.

The level of access UpToDate gives patient care teams and patients has boundless potential. It’s suited for every clinical environment—from retail pharmacy, to hospital, to urgent care—and it’s built to provide culturally relevant educational content for clinician teams, patients, and caregivers.

Pharmacy integration benefits all healthcare stakeholders

Prioritizing the reduction of pharmacy staff burnout is a smart strategic decision—one that pays dividends to the pharmacy and the entire healthcare community. Pharmacists around the world are committed to improving patient outcomes and enhancing patient safety. And for many, all they need from leadership is resources and tools built for the next level of pharmacy performance.

I’m optimistic about a future of pharmacy where health leaders champion synergy between all players on the healthcare team—patient, clinicians, and pharmacists alike.

Download the report below and explore previous UpToDate Point of Care reports.