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Pharmacy
Special Issues
Advances in Rural Pharmacy Practice
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Advances in Rural Pharmacy Practice

A special issue of Pharmacy (ISSN 2226-4787). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmacy Practice and Practice-Based Research".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 299

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Kimberly McKeirnan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Washington State University, Spokane, WA 99202, USA
Interests: pharmacy education; rural health; pharmacy practice; pharmacy technicians; vaccination services
Prof. Dr. Megan Undeberg

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Washington State University, Spokane, WA 99202, USA
Interests: pharmacy education; rural health; pharmacy practice; pharmacy technicians; vaccination services

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rural pharmacists face numerous challenges, including demanding workloads, difficulties with pharmacy staffing, issues with reimbursement for services, and complications with assisting patients in accessing specialty care. This Special Issue invites authors to submit research articles, reviews, commentaries, and case studies that explore the evolving role of pharmacists in rural patient care. Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

  • Innovative patient care services provided by rural pharmacy personnel in a hospital, community, or ambulatory care setting.
  • Novel approaches and activities in pharmacy education that prepare student pharmacists for rural practice.
  • Implementation of advanced pharmacy technician roles in rural patient care.

Descriptions of advancements in rural community pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, ambulatory care, and pharmacy education are welcome. Articles describing rural patient care advancements in any country are encouraged for this Special Issue.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Kimberly McKeirnan
Prof. Dr. Megan Undeberg
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmacy is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • pharmacy practice research
  • rural patient care
  • pharmacy education
  • advanced roles for pharmacy technicians

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 229 KiB  
Article
Qualitative Analysis of Test-to-Treat Benefits and Barriers for Pharmacists in Rural Washington State
by Bradley Brown, Megan Undeberg, Angela Stewart and Kimberly McKeirnan
Pharmacy 2025, 13(3), 80; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmacy13030080 - 3 Jun 2025
Viewed by 213
Abstract
Background: Rural communities in the United States experience significant barriers in accessing healthcare, including inadequate numbers of providers and local healthcare facilities. These barriers are exacerbated during seasons with high rates of respiratory diseases when rural clinics and providers may be overwhelmed. When [...] Read more.
Background: Rural communities in the United States experience significant barriers in accessing healthcare, including inadequate numbers of providers and local healthcare facilities. These barriers are exacerbated during seasons with high rates of respiratory diseases when rural clinics and providers may be overwhelmed. When mild, many of these respiratory diseases may be managed effectively in alternate settings, including community pharmacies. Investigators interviewed pharmacists in Washington State to explore the capacity of pharmacists and pharmacies to provide test-to-treat services for COVID-19, influenza, and strep throat. Methods: A qualitative study design was used to conduct key informant interviews with pharmacists who precepted student pharmacists from a local university. Twenty interviews were conducted, transcribed, and qualitatively evaluated to identify themes. The 5 A’s of Access were utilized as a theoretical framework. This framework describes five domains of access, including affordability, availability, accessibility, accommodation, and acceptability. Results: Qualitative analysis identified several themes that described the benefits of offering test-to-treat services in rural communities, such as reducing geographical barriers to accessing care, reducing wait times for patients, and reducing the number of patients seeking higher levels of care for basic treatments. Barriers to offering test-to-treat services identified by pharmacist participants included difficulties with receiving payment for services, challenges with adequate staffing, and the lack of awareness among many people in rural communities that pharmacies offer test-to-treat services. Conclusions: Rural communities experience challenges with the limited capacity of healthcare providers to meet the needs of patients in their communities. The results of this qualitative analysis may be useful to pharmacists in U.S. states where collaborative drug therapy agreements or collaborative practice agreements allow the provision of test-to-treat services. By providing test-to-treat services, pharmacists can increase access to care for rural patients and alleviate the burden of offering these services from other healthcare providers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Rural Pharmacy Practice)
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