In a statement issued Tuesday following the recent pharmacy store closures in the Kansas City area, the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) said it stands with pharmacists in ensuring a safe patient care environment.
“As pharmacists, we have a professional obligation through our Oath to consider the welfare of humanity and the relief of suffering as our primary concerns,” APhA stated “We further commit to advocating for changes that improve patient care. Pharmacists who find themselves in situations where the welfare of others is in question should always pause, evaluate the situation, and take the steps necessary to ensure safe, optimal patient care. This is irrespective of the setting of care.”
APhA noted that in 2021 it convened a summit of pharmacist employers and frontline pharmacists that led to the development of a Fundamental Rights and Responsibilities statement. “The issues that lead to suboptimal health care working environments are complex and are not unique to pharmacies,” APhA said. “We see similar situations in physicians’ offices, hospitals, and other practice settings. Our health care system needs change which leads to supporting the patient–provider (including the pharmacist-provider) relationship.”
Pharmacy Workplace and Well-Being Reporting data “indicate that employers and pharmacists are not engaging in sufficient dialogue,” APhA said, and called on “employers to engage in better communication with pharmacists to find solutions that will accelerate innovations and improvements in the dispensing and care process.”