ASHP Statement on Telehealth Pharmacy Practice

Address correspondence to Bruce Hawkins (bhawkins@ashp.org). ASHP believes appropriately trained and equipped pharmacists can use telehealth to remotely oversee pharmacy operations and provide distributive, clinical, analytical, consultative, and managerial services. ASHP advocates for telehealth utilization in suitable functions of pharmacy operations and patient care to improve patient outcomes, expand access to healthcare, enhance patient safety, achieve effective cost-of-care, and interact with other healthcare team members. ASHP further advocates that boards of pharmacy adopt compatible regulations that enable the use of United States–based telehealth services within and across state lines for appropriate practice settings and that additional research be conducted to establish best practices for telehealth. Definitions of telehealth vary widely.1 The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has defined telehealth as “the use of information and telecommunications technology in healthcare delivery for a specific patient involving a provider across distance or time.” 2 The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) defines telehealth more broadly: “the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support and promote long-distance clinical healthcare, patient and professional health-related education, and public health and health administration. Technologies include videoconferencing, the internet, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and landline and wireless communications.” 3 The 2020 American Medical Association (AMA) Telehealth Playbook4 defines telehealth as “a digital health solution that connects the patient and clinician through real-time audio and video technology” and states that telehealth “can be used as an alternative to traditional in-person care delivery and, in certain circumstances, can be used to deliver care such as the diagnosis, consultation, treatment, education, care management, and self-management of patients.”