Pharmacy technicians are essential members of the pharmacy team, helping pharmacists in various tasks such as dispensing medications, managing inventory and providing customer service. But what if they could also play a role in improving the health and well-being of their communities?
That is the vision behind the Pharmacy Technician/Community Health Worker (PharmTech/CHW) program in Virginia, a collaborative effort involving Health Quality Innovators (HQI) the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), the Virginia Pharmacists Association (VPhA) and several independent pharmacies across the state.
The PharmTech/CHW program equips pharmacy technicians with the training and skills to become community health workers (CHWs), trusted community members who can identify and tackle the social drivers of health (SDOH) impacting their patients. SDOH are conditions in which people live, work and play, such as income, education, housing, food security and access to care, that influence their health outcomes.
Beginning as a pilot project in late spring 2020, Virginia became a trailblazer with only a few states having similar initiatives at that time. The first cohort of seven pharmacy technicians completed the CHW didactic training offered by the Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI) before transitioning into roles as PharmTech/CHWs in four independent community pharmacies.
As an additional cohort of six pharmacy technicians began training, HQI and VPhA worked with the Virginia Community Health Worker Association (VCHWA) and the Virginia Certification Board (VCB) to tailor existing curriculum and certification requirements to better align with skills and responsibilities of pharmacy technicians. The VCB approved a modified 60-hour core competency training in late 2022, and pharmacists can supervise the 2,000 hours of service necessary for becoming a certified community health worker (CCHW).
Since its inception, the program has expanded to include 15 independent community pharmacies and 21 PharmTech/CHWs all working in underserved areas across the state. Six PharmTech/CHWs have attained certification as CCHWs.
“Pharmacy technicians make great community healthcare workers,” said Meredy Ayres, Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT), CCHW, who works at Bremo Pharmacy in Richmond, Virginia. “They combine medication knowledge with personal patient relationships to provide education, healthcare navigation and counseling support. This approach improves medication adherence and overall health. At our pharmacy, technician community health workers identify barriers like transportation and costs, then help patients overcome these obstacles to better manage their conditions.”
PharmTech/CHWs play a vital role in empowering their patients to manage chronic conditions by connecting them with lifestyle change programs like the Diabetes Prevention Program and Diabetes Self-Management Education/Services. Additionally, they facilitate access to mHealth resources, including the HeartBEAT and BEATDiabetes text messaging apps. Other activities include referrals to Quit Now, the state smoking cessation program, and Stroke Smart education. Some PharmTech/CHWS are also Healthy Heart Ambassadors, educating patients on self-monitoring blood pressure. Others provide REVIVE! training and Narcan.
HQI and their partners collaborated to integrate pharmacies into Unite Us, a social needs screening and referral platform. PharmTech/CHWs can screen patients for SDOH and seamlessly connect them to services that can address their social needs.
HQI and VPhA join forces every month with the PharmTech/CHWs to celebrate successes, tackle workflow issues and overcome challenges. Together, we form an innovative team dedicated to enhancing the health and well-being of our communities by supporting and encouraging each other and fostering a collaborative environment where everyone’s efforts contribute to positive outcomes for the people we serve.
If you missed it, be sure to watch a recording of our popular recent webinar about Community Health Workers: Addressing Social Drivers of Health. Learn how CHWs are working with people in their communities to address various topics/conditions and community health outcomes, including unnecessary emergency department visits and hospitalizations.