A U.S. perspective on pharmacists and public health in practice and education

Public health initiatives emphasize disease prevention and population health. The goal of recent statements from the American Public Health Association and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists is to increase awareness of pharmacists' contributions toward combating conditions that influence public health and to identify opportunities for future involvement. Pharmacists' roles in disease prevention and health promotion include hypertension screening and counseling, diabetes screening and counseling, sexually transmitted disease control, and cancer prevention. Pharmacists' activities support public health approaches at the population level through collaborative medication therapy management and interprofessional problem solving. Pharmacists are often privileged to order laboratory tests, adjust medications, and initiate medications as direct patient care providers. Similarly, pharmacists may have protocols or established collaborative practice agreements with physicians to help patients attain therapeutic goals for anticoagulation, blood pressure, lipids, and blood sugar control. Pharmacists should integrate public health opportunities in their daily practice when they mentor or teach pharmacy students. Through revised standards the U.S. Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) challenges pharmacists in academia to educate students on how to address public health issues on a global scale before they assume responsibilities as practicing pharmacists. Furthermore, pharmacists should work with planners to ensure their involvement in public health policy decision-making and in the planning, development, and implementation of public health efforts. The availability of preventive health services is an important component of the U.S. healthcare system. The number of risk factors, adverse drug events, or the severity of certain medical errors or problems can be reduced or prevented by active public health approaches at provider-patient levels. As the need and demand for more preventive public health services heightens and becomes more evident, the necessity for pharmacists to assist in meeting these challenges becomes more apparent. In addition, a sample public health course will be discussed.