Expanding the Role of the Pharmacist

Self-management is integral to transitional care for adolescents and young adults with special healthcare needs (AYASHCN), and medication management is a task that will be essential for most chronic illnesses. The pharmacist is an underused resource in the transitional care team, despite their custodianship of most medicinal products. In this chapter, we explore the current and potential roles of pharmacists in the care of AYASHCN. Pharmacists in hospital, ambulatory care, and retail/community settings have complementary roles. Their practice context is different—hospital pharmacists are generally more integrated into clinic teams. Community pharmacists are generalist healthcare providers who can facilitate development of generic healthcare skills, and they can provide continuity to AYASHCN and their families when transfer of care occurs. We propose that hospital pharmacists should be more involved in helping AYASHCN to develop effective medication management skills and that AYASHCN should be encouraged to find an empathetic community pharmacist at an early point in transition planning. We present a number of examples of innovation.