Strengthening Global Health Outreach Programs Through Pharmacy Services

In recent years, there has been a surge in global health outreach programs to address health care challenges and disparities in resource-poor countries. The scope of these outreach programs ranges from direct patient care services such as dental, surgical, and medical care, to large-scale public health programs affecting health care systems. Oftentimes medication formulary generation, pharmacy setup, workflow, and dismantling responsibilities are assumed by a variety of health care providers with other direct patient care functions. This can lead to poor use of limited health care resources, dosing errors, improper medication handling, and caregiver exhaustion, which may ultimately result in substandard patient care. Unfortunately, teams deployed to resourcepoor settings often fail to use pharmacists because team members are unaware of pharmacists’ unique clinical and logistical expertise. Integration of pharmacy services into health care teams already occurs in the US Medical Reserve Corps, USAID (US Agency for International Development), the Peace Corps, disaster medical assistance teams, free clinics, and nongovernmental medical service teams. In many such organizations and settings, pharmacists oversee pretrip formulary management, drug acquisition, pharmacy setup, and pharmacy work flow. Pharmacists also provide clinical consultations, dispense medications, manage inventory, and dismantle pharmacies when outreach programs are completed. Described here are the specific benefits pharmacists bring to strengthen surgical and medical service teams. This article also explores how student and resident pharmacist participation early in professional training can help increase pharmacists’ visibility in global health outreach programs. This in turn will help ensure the sustainability and scalability of future initiatives.