Patients look to pharmacists for POC testing

With the United States expected to face a growing shortage of primary care physicians over the next decade, support for point-of-care testing in community pharmacies is growing.

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“While patients continue to look to their pharmacist as a steward of medication safety and effectiveness, more and more patients are looking to their pharmacists to provide innovative services that further help maintain their health-and-wellness, including point-of-care testing,” National Association of Chain Drug Stores president and CEO Steve Anderson said this spring after the association kicked off its Community Pharmacy-Based Point-of-Care Testing certificate program.



According to a study published last year in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, one of the most immediate impacts that point-of-care testing in pharmacies can have is helping prevent and treat such infectious diseases as influenza, group A streptococcal pharyngitis, HIV and hepatitis C.



Proponents of point-of-care testing in pharmacies said providing these services could help ensure a bright future for pharmacies across the country.



“It’s a matter of being prepared to meet the opportunities presented to us,” said Stephanie Klepser, clinical director at the specialty pharmacy Optimed LLC; Michael Klepser, Ferris State University College of Pharmacy professor; and Emily Burley, a PharmD candidate at the school, in a story in the group’s journal Michigan Pharmacist. “A pharmacy work force skilled in physical assessment and use of POC tests, and that is eager to enter in to collaborative disease management programs with physicians, is just what the profession needs.”



However, those pushing for more point-of-care testing in pharmacies admit that there are hurdles to be cleared before testing in pharmacies can become widespread.



Regulations concerning testing vary from state to state and are often vague, experts said. Only eight states address point-of-care testing in their pharmacy practice acts, and only five of those specify which tests pharmacists are allowed to perform.



Data from healthcare researchers suggested, however, that a growing number of community pharmacies are finding ways to offer point-of-care testing. Since 2004, for instance, the number of pharmacies with a certificate to offer services waived under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 — including point-of-care testing — has nearly tripled.