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Rural Pharmacy and Prescription Drugs – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Pharmacy and Prescription Drugs.

Availability of Pharmacies in Minoritized Racial/Ethnic Areas
Explores the availability of pharmacies nationwide across ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) categorized by rurality and racial and ethnic composition. Provides data on the number of pharmacies per capita by ZCTA rurality and minoritized ethnic and racial group category and the distribution of urban and rural ZCTAs that do not have a pharmacy by ethnic and racial group.
Author(s): Whitney E. Zahnd, Gabriel Benavidez, Oyeleye Oyesode, et al.
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Medicare Beneficiary Access to Prescription Drugs in Rural Areas
Policy brief identifying the types of pharmacies used by Medicare beneficiaries in rural areas with limited or no access to pharmacies, using data from July 2016 to December 2017. Features statistics on county and beneficiary characteristics and claim event counts, with breakdowns by county pharmacy cohort.
Author(s): Onyinye Oyeka, Fred Ullrich, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Rural and Urban Pharmacy Presence – Pharmacy Deserts
Uses data from the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs to explore the number of counties with no pharmacy presence between January - June 2022. Compares pharmacy absence and the characteristics of counties with no retail pharmacy across noncore, micropolitan, and metropolitan counties.
Author(s): Joanne Constantin, Fred Ullrich, Keith J. Mueller
Date: 08/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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A Qualitative Study on Pharmacy Policies Toward Over-the-Counter Syringe Sales in a Rural Epicenter of US Drug-Related Epidemics
Examines pharmacy over-the-counter (OTC) policies and pharmacists' rationale for, and barriers and facilitators to, OTC syringe sales in a rural Appalachian Kentucky area hard hit by drug-related epidemics. Uses data collected from interviews with 14 pharmacists between February 2018 and January 2019.
Author(s): Monica Fadanelli, Hannah L. F. Cooper, Patricia R. Freeman, et al.
Citation: Harm Reduction Journal, 19(1)
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
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Prescription Drug Affordability among Medicare Beneficiaries
Examines the affordability of prescription drugs among Medicare beneficiaries. Explores whether Medicare beneficiaries skipped doses, took less medication, delayed filling a prescription, or did not fill needed prescriptions due to cost concerns. Explores affordability concerns by race and ethnicity, sex, family income, urban versus rural counties, and presence of select chronic conditions.
Author(s): Wafa Tarazi, Kenneth Finegold, Steven Sheingold, Nancy De Lew, Benjamin D. Sommers
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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2022 340B Health Annual Survey: Vital 340B-Supported Patient Services Threatened as Manufacturer Restrictions Cut Into Savings
Summarizes the results of an November - December 2022 survey of 633 hospitals, including small and rural hospitals, that participate in the 340B drug pricing program. Describes how these hospitals utilize their savings from the 340B program to benefit patients. Discusses the importance of the program to Critical Access Hospitals, Disproportionate Share Hospitals, and other safety-net facilities. Outlines the effects of manufacturer restrictions on community and specialty pharmacies.
Date: 2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: 340B Health
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Expanding Pharmacists' Prescriptive Authority: Options for Reform
Explores why states may want to consider expanding pharmacists' prescriptive authority. Presents state policy options for expanding prescriptive authority for pharmacists, including advantages and disadvantages of each and examples from states. Also addresses potential concerns about the increased prescriptive authority of pharmacists.
Author(s): James Broughel, Elise Amez-Droz
Date: 12/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Mercatus Center
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Introducing Clinical Pharmacy Specialists into Interprofessional Primary Care Teams
Examines the integration of clinical pharmacy specialists as part of the interprofessional primary care team and in the Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Rural Veteran Access (CRVA) initiative to determine impacts on healthcare access for rural patients.
Author(s): Megan B. McCullough, Anna Zogas, Chris Gillespie, et al.
Citation: Medicine (Baltimore), 100(38), e26689
Date: 09/2021
Type: Document
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Delta Region Community Health Systems Development (DRCHSD) Program: 340B Drug Pricing Program Guide
Provides rural hospital administrators with information regarding the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Offers State Offices of Rural Health (SORHs) directors and Flex Program coordinators a better understanding of the process hospitals must abide by to participate in the 340B Program.
Author(s): BKD CPAs & Advisors
Date: 08/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Rural Community Pharmacies' Preparedness for and Responses to COVID-19
Analyzes emergency preparedness for COVID-19 in rural, southeastern community pharmacies and how emergency preparedness responses varied by level of rurality. Utilizes survey data from 62 pharmacists part of the Rural Research Alliance of Community Pharmacies (RURAL-CP), examining COVID-19 information source use, interest in COVID-19 testing, infection control procedures, disaster preparedness training, medication supply impacts, and demographic characteristics, comparing responses from pharmacists located in large rural town, small rural town, and isolated rural town.
Additional links: Poster Presentation
Author(s): Delesha M. Carpenter, Tessa Hastings, Salisa Westrick, et al.
Citation: Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 17, 1327-1331
Date: 07/2021
Type: Document
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Last Updated: 11/19/2024