Pharmacists continually rank among the top five most trusted professions. Yet their role as key health care providers and critical touchstones during the patient journey is often overlooked. In this month’s “The Take,” Avita’s Glen Pietrandoni chats with internationally known HIV pharmacist Michelle Sherman, founder of the Center for Advanced Pharmacist Care, host of the Conscious Pharmacist Podcast, and president of MichRx Pharmacist Consulting Services*. Read on for a lively discussion about how pharmacists are finally demanding their voices be heard—and why she thinks they’re the health care system’s “best-kept secret.”
Glen: Michelle, we’ve both been pharmacists for a long time, and we’ve fought for recognition of the fact that pharmacists are crucial to patients’ well-being. How does the pharmacy—and the pharmacy team—play a role in health care?
Michelle: As a pharmacist, I’m a firm believer that pharmacists are an integral part of a patient’s health care team. Gone are the days when the pharmacist is standing behind the counter counting pills.
I’ve been working in HIV for the past 30 years, and during my career I’ve seen this complete evolution of the pharmacist, and the pharmacist journey, from that of a pill counter to a health care provider. Over the years, other disciplines like physicians, dentists, and medical providers have been very vocal about what they want from their profession, who they are, and what they do for patients. As pharmacists, we’ve been notoriously bad at that. We’re the best-kept secret in the health care system.
