What is the impact of expanded scopes of practice on community pharmacies?

• A. It decreases prescription volume.
• B. It reduces workload for pharmacists.
• C. It eliminates the need for central fill pharmacies.
• D. It increases prescription volume and workload, necessitating support from central fill pharmacies.

Answer: (D)

Expanded scopes of practice let pharmacists take on more patient-care tasks, such as initiating or adjusting certain medications and providing vaccines. In community pharmacies, this typically means more prescriptions are processed and more direct patient interactions occur, which raises the overall workload for pharmacists. To handle the increased volume and complexity efficiently, pharmacies often rely on central fill pharmacies or hub services to take on parts of the dispensing process, packaging, and distribution. So the best choice is that expanded scopes of practice increase prescription volume and workload, necessitating support from central fill pharmacies.