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I. Background
The U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), Health Resource and Service
Administration's (HRSA's) 2000 report
on the pharmacist workforce documented
the current and growing shortfall of pharmacists.[1]
Health care providers and professional
organizations also report evidence that
suggests in recent years there has been
a moderate shortfall of pharmacists, including
reports of increased difficulty recruiting
and retaining pharmacists, growing dissatisfaction
by pharmacists with long hours worked,
and rising costs to employ pharmacists.[2]
Since the 2000 report, the U.S. Bureau
of the Census has revised upward its projections
of population growth, the Federal Government
enacted the Medicare Part D program which
expands pharmacy insurance to more elderly,
technology continues to advance, and minimum
credentials for entry into the workforce
for new pharmacists changed from baccalaureate
to doctorate degrees. The Nation’s
educational capacity to train new pharmacists
and pharmacy technicians continues to
expand, enrollments in schools of pharmacy
are at an all time high, and the role
of pharmacists in providing care to patients
continues to evolve.
Acknowledging the Federal Government’s
role and interest in ensuring an adequate
supply of pharmacists, Congress issued
a directive to
…encourage the Department
[HHS] to begin a study on comprehensive
pharmacy services in light of changes
in technology, distance and distributive
learning models, the aging of the
population and the Department’s
study on the severe pharmacist shortage
in order to analyze how they may influence
the nature of pharmaceutical education
and interventions in healthcare. [3]
In response to this directive, HRSA's
Bureau of Health Professions conducted
a study and developed the Pharmacist Supply
and Requirements Model (PhSRM) to examine
the current and projected future adequacy
of pharmacist supply under alternate supply
and demand scenarios. The trends and research
underlying these forecasts, as well as
supply and demand projections, are presented
in this report. Section II describes
the current supply of pharmacists, trends
in supply determinants, and supply projections.
Section III presents similar information
for pharmacists requirements—current
demand, trends in demand determinants,
and projections. Section IV discusses
the current and future adequacy of supply.
Section V discusses key findings and implications,
as well as the study strengths and limitations.
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