Defining Pharmacy Access: A Review of Pharmacy-Level Research in the United States.

IF 2.8 2区 医学 Q1 HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES
Medical Care Pub Date : 2025-10-01 Epub Date: 2025-09-11 DOI:10.1097/MLR.0000000000002196
Emeka Elvis Duru, Kenechukwu C Ben-Umeh, Kelly E Anderson, T Joseph Mattingly
{"title":"Defining Pharmacy Access: A Review of Pharmacy-Level Research in the United States.","authors":"Emeka Elvis Duru, Kenechukwu C Ben-Umeh, Kelly E Anderson, T Joseph Mattingly","doi":"10.1097/MLR.0000000000002196","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Access to pharmacy services is a critical determinant of health care equity, as it directly impacts medication adherence, chronic disease management, and overall health outcomes. Despite the important role of community pharmacies in the United States, disparities in access persist, particularly among rural, minority, and low-income populations. However, there is no consensus on how pharmacy access should be defined or measured, and how these definitions relate to health outcomes.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This review evaluates how pharmacy access is defined and measured in US-based studies and examines its implications on health outcomes, quality of care, and health care costs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a scoping review of US-based studies published over the past 20 years, identifying patterns in definitions and measurements of pharmacy access, as well as associated health outcomes. The review followed Arksey and O'Malley's framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria, most of which used cross-sectional designs. Definitions of pharmacy access varied, with metrics including distance to the nearest pharmacy, pharmacy density, and the concept of pharmacy deserts. Limited pharmacy access was associated with lower medication adherence, poorer chronic disease management, increased health care costs, and higher hospitalization rates.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Efforts to improve pharmacy access should focus on standardizing measurement approaches and implementing targeted interventions to sustain pharmacies in underserved areas. These strategies have the potential to enhance medication adherence, reduce health care costs, and address health disparities across vulnerable communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":18364,"journal":{"name":"Medical Care","volume":"63 10","pages":"758-763"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Medical Care","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1097/MLR.0000000000002196","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/9/11 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Access to pharmacy services is a critical determinant of health care equity, as it directly impacts medication adherence, chronic disease management, and overall health outcomes. Despite the important role of community pharmacies in the United States, disparities in access persist, particularly among rural, minority, and low-income populations. However, there is no consensus on how pharmacy access should be defined or measured, and how these definitions relate to health outcomes.

Objective: This review evaluates how pharmacy access is defined and measured in US-based studies and examines its implications on health outcomes, quality of care, and health care costs.

Methods: We conducted a scoping review of US-based studies published over the past 20 years, identifying patterns in definitions and measurements of pharmacy access, as well as associated health outcomes. The review followed Arksey and O'Malley's framework and PRISMA-ScR guidelines.

Results: Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria, most of which used cross-sectional designs. Definitions of pharmacy access varied, with metrics including distance to the nearest pharmacy, pharmacy density, and the concept of pharmacy deserts. Limited pharmacy access was associated with lower medication adherence, poorer chronic disease management, increased health care costs, and higher hospitalization rates.

Conclusions: Efforts to improve pharmacy access should focus on standardizing measurement approaches and implementing targeted interventions to sustain pharmacies in underserved areas. These strategies have the potential to enhance medication adherence, reduce health care costs, and address health disparities across vulnerable communities.

界定药学准入:美国药学水平研究综述。
背景:获得药房服务是卫生保健公平的关键决定因素,因为它直接影响药物依从性、慢性病管理和整体健康结果。尽管社区药房在美国发挥着重要作用,但在获取方面的差距仍然存在,特别是在农村、少数民族和低收入人群中。然而,对于如何定义或衡量药房可及性,以及这些定义与健康结果之间的关系,尚未达成共识。目的:本综述评估了在美国的研究中如何定义和衡量药房可及性,并探讨了其对健康结果、护理质量和卫生保健成本的影响。方法:我们对过去20年发表的美国研究进行了范围审查,确定了药房可及性的定义和测量模式以及相关的健康结果。审查遵循Arksey和O'Malley的框架和PRISMA-ScR指南。结果:16项研究符合纳入标准,大部分采用横断面设计。药房获取的定义各不相同,度量标准包括到最近药房的距离、药房密度和药房沙漠的概念。有限的药房获取与较低的药物依从性、较差的慢性疾病管理、增加的医疗保健费用和较高的住院率相关。结论:改善药房可及性的工作应侧重于标准化测量方法和实施有针对性的干预措施,以维持服务不足地区的药房。这些战略有可能提高药物依从性,降低卫生保健费用,并解决弱势社区之间的卫生差距。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 求助全文
来源期刊
Medical Care
Medical Care 医学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生
CiteScore
5.20
自引率
3.30%
发文量
228
审稿时长
3-8 weeks
期刊介绍: Rated as one of the top ten journals in healthcare administration, Medical Care is devoted to all aspects of the administration and delivery of healthcare. This scholarly journal publishes original, peer-reviewed papers documenting the most current developments in the rapidly changing field of healthcare. This timely journal reports on the findings of original investigations into issues related to the research, planning, organization, financing, provision, and evaluation of health services.
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
确定
请完成安全验证×
copy
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
右上角分享
点击右上角分享
0
联系我们:info@booksci.cn Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。 Copyright © 2023 布克学术 All rights reserved.
京ICP备2023020795号-1
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:604180095
Book学术官方微信