Pharmacists said that there is a disconnect between their employers’ business expectations and how a service should be provided to ensure the best patient care and outcomes. They said they were uncomfortable being expected to meet certain quotas, and in some cases, the services they were required to provide were not helpful to the patient.

A sample of what pharmacists said:
Our present system of reimbursement based on volume and not quality of care or proper patient outcomes is making it difficult to implement and allow the time needed to gain confidence and understanding of proper implementation.

When employers want pharmacists to do clinical services, they appear to care more about numbers and profit rather than the quality of service provided.

As pharmacists, how can we provide quality care if corporate companies continually have a set amount of services we must provide? This sets us and our profession up to fail. We are doing these services for the wrong reasons.

What the NSCP will do:
Direction 2 in the NSCP’s strategic plan is to Engage in Practice Environment Concerns.

The following major initiative under this direction will help address the barrier of the conflict between employers’ business deliverables and optimal patient care:
1. Initiate continuing dialogue between the NSCP and pharmacy owners on workplace issues.