Evaluation of work activities for pharmacists in community pharmacy settings

Background

To meet the demands of patients and communities during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, community pharmacists expanded their time spent on various work activities. It is unknown how community pharmacists are spending their workday in practice activities after the pandemic.

Objectives

The specific objectives of this project were to describe the time community pharmacists are spending on work activities and their perceptions of whether this time is decreasing, increasing, or not changing. In addition, the proportion of services delivered with an appointment was described, along with pharmacists’ satisfaction with their time spent on these work activities.

Methods

The 2022 National Pharmacist Workforce Study was conducted via an online survey sent to a random sample of 93,990 licensed U.S. pharmacists. The survey allowed customization of questions based on the pharmacy practice setting. Community pharmacists were asked to report the percent of time spent, the number of hours in a week spent, the change in time spent since March 2020, the use of appointments, and satisfaction with time spent on work activities.

Results

Usable responses were gathered from 1971 community pharmacists. More than 75% of respondents reported an increase in time spent administering vaccines, and approximately 90% of respondents reported the use of appointments when administering vaccines. Respondents also reported spending a considerable amount of time providing advisory services (e.g., assisting with insurance) with at least 35% of respondents reporting time spent on these services increased. Lower satisfaction with time spent on work activities was found among respondents who reported working in large chains, mass merchandisers, or grocery chains than those working in independents and or small chains.

Conclusion

Community pharmacists are increasing time spent on some work activities, such as vaccinations and advisory services, added to their normal workflow. Low satisfaction with time spent on work activities is a concern in some community pharmacy settings.