Screening for Social Determinants of Health in Community Pharmacy: Identifying Best Practices, Barriers and Strategies for Success

Summary The social determinants of health (SDOH) play a key role in patients’ access to healthcare and medications. There exists an area of opportunity to leverage community pharmacists to make a significant impact in identifying and incorporating an understanding of a patient’s SDOH into their treatment plan. Community pharmacies are accessible and trusted avenues for healthcare interventions. With the advancement of appointment-based models as well as the increased training of support personnel, community pharmacies may be well suited for this public health task. However, there are significant challenges, such as paradigm shifts in workflow, reimbursement, and training that must be addressed in order to make this endeavor successful. This commentary explores the sparse literature related to community pharmacists conducting screening for social risk factors to identify best practices and barriers to implementation and outlines how screening for social needs aligns with the Pharmacists’ Patient Care Process.