News Developments and Pharmacists

Pharmacists have a lot on their minds these days: the recession, long-term job prospects, healthcare reform, and the pending flu season to name a few concerns.

The Recession and Pharmacists

The demand for pharmacists throughout the U.S. has declined this year, especially in areas hit hard by unemployment. A report in Supermarket News says, “The Aggregate Demand Index for Pharmacists shows a fairly large drop in hiring demand for pharmacists when comparing March 2009 with March 2008.”

This is echoed by the dean of the College of Pharmacy at Touro University in Vallejo, CA. "Up until six months ago, pharmacy graduates faced great job opportunities and received multiple offers and sign-on bonuses," said Katherine K. Knapp, Ph.D. “The market for pharmacy jobs has since fallen off, with graduates in areas hard hit by the recession, such as Michigan, finding it difficult to find positions.”

Long-term Jobs Outlook

A pharmacist shortage is forecast for at least the next decade. According to some estimates, the U.S. will need more than 150,000 new pharmacists by 2020 to meet the expected demand. To address this, pharmacy schools are expanding, and at least a dozen new pharmacy schools will open their doors by the end of next year.

As a result of the pharmacist shortage, employers have been forced to do more with less. Automation is helping. Pharmacists are being trained on new systems and freed up to do more challenging work. Rather than being a threat to their jobs, automation is relieving pharmacists of time-consuming, manual tasks, which is increasing their overall value in the marketplace as highly skilled healthcare professionals.

Healthcare Reform and Pharmacists

The American Pharmacists Association wants pharmacists to become actively involved in the healthcare reform debate. It is advocating the following in connection with this:

“Do not assume that Congress, President Obama, or his Administration understand that you are the third-largest and most accessible health care profession; that pharmacists play a critical role in providing accessible, affordable and quality health care for patients; that more fully utilizing the pharmacists can further improve quality of care and decrease health care cost; or that they appreciate that by not addressing the nation's medication use problem we will miss a huge opportunity to improve the health of hundreds of thousands of patients.”

Pending Flu Season

Hospital pharmacy directors are making contingency plans to deal with potential staffing shortages if the flu prevents their employees from coming to work. Some plan to hire retirees and other part-time pharmacists as contract help when their staffers can’t work due to the flu. Some won’t be able to work because they are sick themselves, and others will have to stay home to care for children who have the flu. Another option being considered is to let their pharmacists work from home to verify orders remotely.