To evaluate the geographic distribution of American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Community-Based Pharmacy Residency programs in relation to federally designated areas of healthcare need and social vulnerability across the United States. Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program addresses were collected from September 2023 to September 2024 through a three-phase approach: an initial Qualtrics survey of Residency Program Directors, review of program websites, and telephone call follow-up. The resulting 268 addresses (approximately 80% of U.S. Community-Based Pharmacy Residency programs) were analyzed using ArcGIS Pro to assess their distribution relative to three federal metrics: Medically Underserved Areas (MUA) (score ≥ 62), Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Areas (P-HPSA) (score ≥ 19), and the Center for Disease Control' Social Vulnerability Index (CDCs SVI). Of the 268 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency sites, 37.3% were in MUAs and 41.4% in P-HPSA. While 68.3% of programs were in areas of higher CDC SVI, only 2.6% were in the highest vulnerability communities, indicating limited presence in areas of greatest need. The expansion of Community-Based Pharmacy Residency programs in MUAs, P-HPSAs, and CDC SVIs could present a vital strategy to address healthcare disparities and improve access to pharmacist-led clinical services and healthcare.
Whitner et al. (Mon,) studied this question.