Telepharmacy keeps rural pharmacies open, more than half of CAHs do not have a dedicated pharmacist

The Fall issue of the Rural Monitor Newsletter examines rural pharmacies' challenges as they attempt to compete with internet sales, large pharmacy chains, and the national shortage of pharmacists. Writer Candi Helseth gives the obligatory nod to the North Dakota Telepharmacy Project, and also highlights the use of remote pharmacist services by hospitals for filling the pharmacy services void in rural hospitals:

63 percent of CAHs nationwide ... do not have full-time pharmacists on-site.
...
“It’s pretty obvious that these rural providers aren’t going to be able to find full-time pharmacists even if they can afford them,” Moore said. ”With remote pharmacy, where you can leverage a pharmacist taking care of three to five hospitals, it becomes cost effective for these small hospitals. I hope it’s an idea that takes off in more states because it offers answers for small areas where the retail pharmacist is no longer available as a back-up.”

Read the full article here.