October 30, 2023
Statement from the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association
Every pharmacist takes the Oath of a Pharmacist that encompasses the vows of service to the profession of pharmacy and patients.
Ensuring the safety of patients is the utmost priority for every pharmacist and pharmacy technician working in any pharmacy setting. However, when outside demands interfere with this priority, tensions arise.
Over the past few years, pharmacists have been under extreme challenges in dealing with pandemic demands (COVID vaccines) national medication shortages, and significantly decreasing insurance reimbursements from Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM).
One of the vows in The Oath of Pharmacist is that “I will embrace and advocate changes that impact patient care.” When pharmacists feel they are not supported in their workplace and patient care is at risk, they must voice their concerns.
The latest American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Pharmacy Workplace and Well-being Report highlights that inadequate staffing, unreasonable metrics, and harassment by patients continue to plague pharmacists and pharmacy staff across the country; similar findings to the well-being reports for physicians and nurses.
In support of pharmacist and pharmacy technicians, the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association (PPA) has adopted the APhA 2023 Workplace Conditions Policy which:
- calls for employers to provide fair, realistic, and equitable workplace conditions for pharmacy personnel that promote a safe, healthy, and sustainable working environment;
- urges all entities that impact pharmacy personnel workplace conditions to adopt the Pharmacist’s Fundamental Responsibilities and Rights;
- urges employers to develop and empower pharmacy personnel to use flexible practice management models based on available staffing, expertise, and resources that balance workloads to minimize distractions;
- advocates for employers to provide workplace onboarding and training for pharmacy personnel to optimize employee performance and satisfaction;
- encourages pharmacy personnel, starting with leaders, to model and facilitate individualized healthy working behaviors that improve well-being and to encourage and empower colleagues to do the same;
- opposes the sole use of productivity and fiscal measures for employee performance evaluations; and
- calls for employers and employees to collaborate in the development and use of behavioral performance competencies in performance evaluations.
As the statewide association and voice for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in the Commonwealth, PPA advocates for safe and healthy environments for all pharmacy workers in all practice settings. This also means that pharmacists are supported and remunerated for the vital services that they provide to their patients and communities that go beyond dispensing medication.
PPA supports the daily work of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians as they strive to provide the best pharmacy services to patients across the Commonwealth. PPA is passionate about ensuring that the services provided by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are respected and valued as essential health care providers in the health care system. To support this notion, PPA has committed to:
- Working with members of the Pennsylvania Community Pharmacy Caucus to introduce legislation that will hold PBMs accountable for transparent and fair payment of pharmacist’s drug acquisition and service costs;
- Collaborating with PA Medicaid to add pharmacists as other licensed providers to the Medicaid benefit; and
- Establishing a workgroup of stakeholders including employers, members, and the state’s seven colleges of pharmacy that will formulate pathways for PPA’s role in building a sustainable and healthy workforce for Pennsylvania.
In addition, through the PPA owned Pennsylvania Pharmacists Care Network, pharmacies are provided opportunities to join payer programs that pay pharmacists for patient facing services beyond the dispending of a medication. Examples of these services include Immunizations, Tobacco Cessation Counseling, COVID-19 Vaccine Home Visits, Comprehensive Medication Reviews and Disease State Management & Education.
For additional information on any of these efforts or programs, please contact the PPA at [email protected].
We invite our constituents and others seeking support to also take advantage of these resources.
Additional Information and Resources:
- Pharmacy Workplace and Well-being Reporting portal – Recent published reports are available here. The PWWR is a safe, confidential, and anonymous avenue for pharmacy personnel to report positive and negative workplace experiences developed by the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA) and the APhA. We encourage all pharmacists and pharmacy staff to complete this confidential and anonymous survey to be used to drive lasting change in our industry.
- Well-being Index – A tool designed to be used on a regular basis by pharmacy professionals – this collective knowledge assesses the pulse of a workforce stretched to their limits and encourages action from stakeholders based on those results. We encourage all pharmacy staff to engage for their own sake.
- PA Professional Health Monitoring Program – conducted through the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (BPOA), the PHMP provides a method by which professionals suffering from a mental or physical disorder, such as a substance use disorder, may be directed to appropriate treatment, and receive monitoring to ensure that they can safely practice their licensed profession.
- Physicians Health Program – an independent, non-profit peer assistance organization within the Foundation of the Pennsylvania Medical Society which provides pharmacists, pharmacy students, and other eligible healthcare professionals a connection to services. In addition to accepting self-referrals and working with individuals, the PAPHP works closely with Pennsylvania pharmacy training programs, all major Pennsylvania healthcare systems, and the PA Professional Health Monitoring Program of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (BPOA) to offer private and confidential paths to seeking assistance for behavioral, psychiatric, and substance use disorders.
- S.A.R.P.H. – an independent, non-profit organization, dedicated to helping pharmacists and pharmacy interns manage substance use and mental health disorders.
- Mental Health in PA – resources from the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) for mental health and substance use disorder.
- PPA Career Center – Opportunities for professional pharmacy positions can be found here.
About The Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association
Founded in 1878, the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association is a professional membership organization of more than 2,300 pharmacists and pharmacy students across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, representing nearly all facets of pharmacy practice. As the leading voice of pharmacy in Pennsylvania, PPA promotes the profession through advocacy, education, and communication to enhance patient care and public health.
