Interprofessional team-based care in the community pharmacy setting: A summary of existing models and best practice recommendations

Abstract

Community pharmacies are rapidly becoming destinations for health services beyond medication dispensing. Delivery models for community-based services have become increasingly complex, creating expanded opportunities and necessitating collaboration between pharmacists in the community setting and other health care professionals. As a result, it is essential to articulate best practices and recommendations to assist stakeholders in responding to the changing landscape and optimize care for patients. This white paper provides a summary of published examples of interprofessional practice that include community pharmacies in the United States and internationally, and then adapts established guiding principles for interprofessional practice to the community pharmacy setting to outline a framework and specific recommendations for consideration. This framework highlights a need to place patients at the center of collaborative community-based care models, have organizational leaders show a commitment to and establish an infrastructure for interprofessional collaboration that includes community-based pharmacists, foster respect for community pharmacy practice, address communication and technology barriers in the health care system, and finally, embrace interprofessional learning in the community pharmacy setting. Addressing challenges and embracing opportunities is vital to accelerate practice transformation and further position community-based pharmacists as essential members of interprofessional care teams.