Managed care: impact on pharmacy personnel selection

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Health Care Management
• Managed Care Impact

Background:

• Managed care is increasingly influencing healthcare delivery.
• Pharmacy practice is undergoing significant evolution due to these changes.
• Practitioners are adapting their roles to remain relevant.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the impact of managed care on traditional pharmacy practice.
• To examine how managed care influences the selection of pharmacy personnel.
• To identify opportunities and threats within this evolving landscape.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of pharmacy practice and health care management journals.
• Literature search using terms: managed care, case management, pharmacists, drug use review, patient compliance.
• Analysis of references for relevance to managed care-driven pharmacy changes.

Main Results:

• Managed care's presence in healthcare is growing and significantly impacting pharmacy.
• Pharmacists are redefining their scope of practice to adapt to the evolving system.
• The shift necessitates a reevaluation of pharmacy personnel qualifications.

Conclusions:

• Pharmacy practice is transitioning from a distributive to a cognitive function.
• This evolution requires pharmacists with enhanced qualifications to meet new demands.
• Strategic selection of qualified personnel is vital for pharmacy's integration into the future healthcare system.