U.S. gripped by growing shortage of pharmacists, report says

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A new report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicates the nation is experiencing a shortage of licensed pharmacists -- a trend that emerged over the past two years and shows no sign of abating.

The report, entitled "The Pharmacist Workforce: A Study of the Supply and Demand for Pharmacists," concludes that the number of unfilled full and part-time drug store pharmacist positions across the United States rose sharply from about 2,700 vacancies in February 1998 to nearly 7,000 by February 2000.

The report says such vacancies are expected to grow.

According to the report -- published by the Health Resources and Services Administration, a division of HHS -- there are 196,000 licensed pharmacists in the United States.

Although the demand for pharmacists is increasing, the number of active pharmacists is expected to grow by only 28,500 over this coming decade, 800 less than the 29,300 over the past decade. There is also a decline in pharmacy school applications, with the number of 1999 applicants 33-percent lower than 1994 (the high point of the last decade).

The study identified these causes of the growing demand for pharmacists:

• increased use of a wide range of prescription medications;
• increased access to health care and more health care providers authorized to prescribe medications;
• expanded health insurance coverage, resulting in increased prescriptions and time-consuming third-party payment tasks (these take an estimated 10- to 20-percent of a pharmacist's time);
• the growing emphasis on pharmacy education on a Doctor of Pharmacy degree, which lengthens the education program and increases the amount of training in clinical practice;
• strong competition for pharmacists trained at the residency or fellowship level, with schools of pharmacy, managed care organizations, pharmaceutical corporations and hospitals all competing for highly-trained pharmacists -- resulting in sector shortages, especially for schools and hospitals less able to compete economically.

According to the study, the shortage results in less time for pharmacists to counsel patients; job stress and poor working conditions, with reduced professional satisfaction; longer working hours and less scheduling flexibility, with greater potential for fatigue-related errors; and fewer pharmacy school faculty, because of their recruitment into the workforce.

As part of the study, the HRSA solicited proposals for addressing the problem. Some of the ideas generated included using more technicians to perform repetitive manual tasks, which would free up pharmacists to focus on tasks they alone are authorized to do. Other ideas included greater use of automation to increase efficiency and reduce pharmacists' workload.

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National Association of Chain Drug Stores - Pharmacist Shortage
Pharmacy Choice - Pharmacist Shortage
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

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