WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) is committed to facilitating meaningful dialogue between pharmacy management, pharmacy team members, and other stakeholders that results in improved workplaces, well-being, and the ability to meet ethical obligations to patient safety.
The final report of the APhA Community Pharmacy Workplace Summit provides insights into and strategies for addressing factors impacting community pharmacy workplace and personnel well-being. The Summit was held in late February 2022, and brought together 46 diverse pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, employers, stakeholders, and organizations representing more than 30,000 community pharmacy practice sites.
Summit participants identified more than 20 practical approaches for stakeholder consideration in addressing community-based pharmacy workplace and pharmacy personnel well-being. Ideas for consideration range from identifying mechanisms to eliminate distractions to providing education/training on technology provided in the pharmacy to engaging pharmacists at local pharmacies in the development of site-specific measures. Further, the participants encouraged employer organizations to support their pharmacy personnel by undertaking campaigns to educate the public on the role of the pharmacists and challenges faced in community pharmacy practice.
“There is no magic wand to quickly fix all the root causes of the stressors faced by community pharmacy personnel. The ideas and next steps generated by this Summit should prompt steps for pharmacy management and pharmacy personnel teams to jointly review and address issues in their pharmacy practices,” said Scott J. Knoer, MS, PharmD, FASHP, executive vice president and CEO of APhA. “I challenge all those in community pharmacy practice–pharmacy employers and personnel–to have open and frank discussions with the premise that each has the best intentions to enhance the community pharmacy workplace and address pharmacy personnel well-being while safely taking care of patients.”
Summit participants explored general observations prompted by APhA-provided resources and their own pharmacy practices. APhA resources included:
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Related article: APhA convenes Community Pharmacy Workplace Summit to address drivers impacting workplace and well-being - March 16, 2022
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