Assessing the ability of cross-trained pharmacy technician-community health workers to identify non-medical drivers of health resources.

Abstract

Background: Community pharmacies are increasingly attempting to address non-medical drivers of health (NMDoH) by screening patients for health-related social needs (HRSNs). Cross-training pharmacy technicians as community health workers (PhT-CHWs) may expand pharmacies' capacity to provide these services, but little is known about the community resources identified by PhT-CHWs during training or their associated Z-codes. Characterizing these resources may inform implementation of pharmacy-based community resource referral services.

Objective: To describe the NMDoH resources identified by PhTs who completed CHW training and the Z-codes assigned to those resources to characterize the community resource infrastructure available to support pharmacy-based CHW services.

Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed resource development assignments completed by PhTs enrolled in a nationally recognized CHW training program between 2021 and 2022. Data included community resource information and learner-assigned ICD-10-CM Z-codes. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize resource characteristics and Z-code assignments.

Results: A total of 297 PhT-CHWs from 182 community pharmacies completed the training and identified 4,480 community resources. Most resources had a physical location (n = 4,405; 98.3%), while 65 (1.5%) were online only and 10 (0.2%) were telephone-only. Community resources were assigned 12,538 Z-codes, with an average of 3.13 Z-codes (range: 1-11; median: 2; IQR: 1-4) per resource. The most frequently assigned Z-code categories related to housing and economic circumstances, food insecurity, insurance and welfare support, and education and literacy.

Conclusion: PhTs who completed CHW training identified a broad range of community resources that address diverse HRSNs. These findings provide foundational information on the community resource infrastructure that may support implementation of pharmacy-based CHW services and community resource referral workflows. Future research should evaluate how these resource inventories are integrated into pharmacy practice and their impact on patient care.