Guest Author
About 23 million people call the Sunshine State home, and each year, we gain nearly enough new people to add another city the size of Orlando.
As a pharmacy manager in Bradenton, I see daily how our population is swelling — from the mom picking up medication for her young one sick at home to the grandson retrieving regular medicine for his grandmother. These and so many more come to me with one common objective: to get relief, fast.
But with so much need in our state comes the challenge of providing adequate care for all. In a state that’s added over a million and a half residents since 2019 but only 1,500 new pharmacists to meet their needs, the solution must be an innovative approach to pharmacy.
Fortunately, that solution may be closer than you’d think — it’s actually being considered by Florida legislators right now.
A legislative package, known as SB 444 and HB 493, envisions a hybrid prescription fulfillment process where pharmacists would have the ability to use remote technology to oversee technicians, validate prescriptions, and provide counseling to patients — all without needing to be physically present at the second pharmacy site.
This system might be new to Florida, but it’s already being put to work in many states around the country. In fact, last year 28 states were using this system, including my former home state, Indiana.
I owned several pharmacies in the Hoosier State over the course of 13 years, and one of those pharmacies was a telepharmacy. That was possible because in 2018, the Indiana Legislature passed a law allowing telepharmacy services. We saw an immediate effect on access to care.
Take the story of Hope, a rural town with a population of less than 3,000. It’s located in a health care desert, with the closest pharmacy 20 miles away. Upon hearing that the new law had passed, the Town Manager jumped at the opportunity to implement a telepharmacy model in Hope.
Suddenly, the 2,100 residents of this small, remote town saw the reality of enhanced access to care — no longer having to travel great distances to get their medications, but instead being able to speak to a pharmacist via video chat at any moment of need.
Places like Hope exist all over Florida, too. So many rural areas in Florida need enhanced access to care — and soon.
With an ever-growing population of people needing health care but some of our state’s top universities producing fewer pharmacy graduates, a situation that is already challenging can become even more harrowing.
Pharmacists shouldn’t be boxed into the traditional way of providing care when a more inventive approach is so readily available. I encourage Florida lawmakers to support SB 444/HB 493, so my colleagues in the pharmacy profession can use the latest tools to meet the growing need of patients statewide.
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Josh Anderson is a pharmacy manager in the Bradenton area. He previously owned Panacea Pharmacy in Bloomington, Indiana.
