Patients in the US are moving towards pharmacists as key members of their care team, according to a recent Wolters Kluwer Pharmacy Next survey. According to the CDC, 90% of the US population lives within 8km of a pharmacy, and patients visit community pharmacists 12 times more frequently than their primary care provider. This shifting role of the pharmacist, accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, provides retail pharmacies with the opportunity to use clinical content to harness patient trust, align with shifting expectations, and secure their place as an established member of the care team. Access to local pharmacies provides a clear convenience for consumers, the CDC found. The Wolters Kluwer Pharmacy Next survey further supported this finding as 61% of consumers said they could envision using primary care services at a pharmacy or retail clinic instead of a primary care physician. However, consumers are still wary, with 79% of survey respondents saying they trust their local pharmacy more than pharmacy staff at a department store.

In a follow-up survey, 58% of consumers said they would likely go to the pharmacy for nonemergency care, with Millennials (56%) and Gen Z (54%) leading the way due to convenience. Instead of going to an emergency room or a primary care physician for minor health issues like a sports injury or strep throat, patients could go to a local retail pharmacy or health clinic for a diagnosis and prescription, the survey found. This is reinforced with programs like Test to Treat, launched by the Biden administration in Mar 2022 to support COVID-19 testing and treatment with approved pills. The American Pharmacists Association is taking it a few steps further with training courses on influenza, strep, minor fungal infections and skin conditions.