Maintaining access to independently owned pharmacies in rural communities can be difficult and may greatly affect the future of rural pharmacy services. A project funded September 2015 and expected to be completed August 2016 at the RUPI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis, http://uiowa.edu/rupi/research/current.html is assessing the “Stability of Rural Pharmacy Services”.
The researchers are studying how this unregulated market is jeopardizing local access to pharmacy services due to disproportionate impacts on financial sustainability. Another area being studied will focus on the viability of local services in the absence of a retail outlet staffed by a Pharm D trained professional using telepharmacy which would require a change in state policies.
Specific study goals are to better understand the economic forces beyond the immediate control of local pharmacies, assess the future of sole community retail pharmacies in rural areas, and explore how to best deliver pharmacy services in the absence of retail pharmacy businesses.
Also, the University of North Dakota Center for Rural Health http://ruralhealth.und.edu and the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analyses www.norc.org are studying the “Use of Care Coordination in Rural and Frontier Hospitals”.
This study will highlight healthcare organizations that have implemented sustainable care coordination models. As a result, of the study, two policy briefs and presentations will be presented at national and regional conferences.