Healthcare ranges from routine to complex, but in many states, doctors who could be focused on more complex care still spend valuable time treating patients with routine problems. Meanwhile, patients wait weeks for an appointment for what could have been done in half an hour, or worse for a diagnosis that was needed urgently. Letting pharmacists treat straightforward conditions, like the flu, alleviates the bottleneck for urgent or complex needs while making care more convenient for patients.
Many states only authorize pharmacists to provide a narrow set of services, and in many others, pharmacist prescribing still depends on collaborative practice agreements with a physician rather than broad independent authority. In only 12 states can pharmacists test and treat COVID-19 and the flu without physician oversight, and in 27 states they cannot treat either even with physician oversight. In many states, even treating strep throat remains restricted.
Pharmacists are often also barred from treating other simple, high-volume conditions such as uncomplicated urinary tract infections, minor skin conditions, and seasonal allergies. These are not complex cases requiring a physician’s full attention, but routine, protocol-driven problems that often send patients to higher-cost settings simply because the law blocks treatment at the pharmacy counter.
Justin Leventhal is a Senior Policy Analyst for the American Consumer Institute, a nonprofit education and research organization that advocates for consumers through evidence-based analysis and data. Follow Justin on X @JustinLeventhal.