Assessing the Geographic Distribution of Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Programs in Areas of Health Care Need

To evaluate the geographic distribution of American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Community-Based Pharmacy Residency programs in relation to federally designated areas of health care need and social vulnerability across the United States.

Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program addresses were collected from September 2023 to September 2024 through a 3-phase approach: an initial Qualtrics survey of Residency Program Directors, review of program websites, and telephone call follow-up. The resulting 268 addresses (approximately 80% of US Community-Based Pharmacy Residency programs) were analyzed using ArcGIS Pro to assess their distribution relative to 3 federal metrics: Medically Underserved Areas (MUA) (score ≥ 62), Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (P-HPSAs) (score ≥ 19), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Social Vulnerability Index (SVI).

Of the 268 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency sites, 37.3% were in MUAs and 41.4% in P-HPSAs. Although 68.3% of programs were in areas of higher CDC SVI, only 2.6% were in the highest-vulnerability communities, indicating limited presence in areas of greatest need.

The expansion of Community-Based Pharmacy Residency programs in MUAs, P-HPSAs, and CDC SVIs could present a vital strategy to address health care disparities and improve access to pharmacist-led clinical services and health care.