Dear AJPM Reader,

In the everchanging landscape of preventive health care, the role of pharmacists has grown beyond simply dispensing medications to playing a larger part in managing and delivering care itself. In 2019 alone, lawmakers introduced more than 100 pieces of legislation across 34 states to expand the scope of pharmacists' practice to encompass health education, chronic disease management, and administration of a range of vaccines, among other new roles.

Two studies published in our October 2022 issue explore expanding pharmacist responsibilities. In one, "Clinical Nudge Impact on Herpes Zoster Vaccine Series Completion in Pharmacies," authors examined the effects of a clinical decision support tool on occurrence of and time to herpes zoster vaccine dose completion in a large community pharmacy chain. When pharmacies implemented a provider nudge within their clinical decision support tool, both measures improved, an example of pharmacist role in managing preventive health care delivery.

A second article in this issue, "Stakeholders’ Acceptability of Pharmacist-Led Screening in Community Pharmacies: A Systematic Review," analyzed 44 studies that explored the acceptability of screening by community pharmacists for any risk factor or medical condition. Findings suggested that community pharmacist-led screening was acceptable to patients, pharmacists, and other healthcare workers. This study highlights another way in which pharmacists are taking on a growing role in preventive care—a function that may continue to expand amid the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing shortages of doctors and nurses.

We hope you find these articles, as well as the rest of our October 2022 issue, to be timely, topical and informative.

Yours in prevention and health,