Health care providers often hear that patients want to receive care from someone who looks like them. In the medical sphere, a growing body of research even supports the claim that this leads to better care, but the majority of physicians are not representative of certain minority groups.

September 9, 2021, was a busy day for the federal government and pharmacy stakeholders alike: Just a few hours apart, we saw significant developments in pharmacists’ COVID-19 pandemic practice authorities and prescription drug pricing. Both items yielded positive news for pharmacists and their patients.

In a recent conversation with a patient’s wife, Justin Ruffridge, PharmD, learned a lot more about the patient’s condition than he expected.