Advocacy: An Essential Skill for the Modern Pharmacy Student

The desire to help people was a big reason I applied to pharmacy school. However, one thing I found early on in my internships and rotations is that sometimes laws can prevent pharmacists—the most accessible health care professionals—and pharmacy interns from working to the best of their abilities while ensuring the utmost patient care.

Laws vary depending on the state that you practice in. In some states, when a patient runs out of an important medication, pharmacists must contact the prescriber for a refill. They can give an emergency supply, but if the physician doesn’t answer the refill request, pharmacists cannot legally give the patient additional medication, which may put the patient at risk.

Additionally, before states started passing laws banning gag clauses, legally we pharmacists could not inform patients that paying cash for certain prescriptions would be cheaper than using their health insurance.

In New York, I can give patients their influenza, pneumonia, or shingles vaccinations, but when they ask to get their hepatitis or human papillomavirus immunizations, I have to send them to authorized providers. If patients with newly diagnosed diabetes are terrified of using their blood glucose monitors, I can coach them through the steps of using the machine, but I cannot prick their fingers and draw blood; that would be against the law.

When facing these issues, I found myself wondering, “Why can’t I do this service when it would be in the best interest of the patient?” This is why pharmacists and student pharmacists need to advocate for legislation, to practice at the height of our profession and provide the best patient care.