Team-Based Care Crucial in Addressing Workforce Shortages
Jonathan Watanabe, PharmD, MS, PhD, BCGP, discussed gaps within primary care in the context of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists 2025 Pharmacy Forecast.
With an estimated 75 million Americans living in areas of primary workforce shortages, health care experts and providers around the country are teaming up to address the issue. In a push to utilize the expertise of multiple providers, health care professionals believe it is necessary for pharmacists, physicians, and various other providers to work together in a team-based setting to ensure better outcomes and alleviate shortages.
“When we really think about the provider, the pharmacist [should] not [be] left out of that dialog, because we saw that also during the pandemic,” said Jonathan Watanabe, PharmD, MS, PhD, BCGP. “Pharmacists took on this heroic role, but that role, that emotional toll, the time, and the fatigue, those components weighed heavily. We have to be really strategic about incorporating that, otherwise the gains that we're going to have, potentially for pharmacists being involved, are going to be short lived.”
Watanabe was a contributing author for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) 2025 Pharmacy Forecast. The section he co-authored, titled “Addressing the Gap in Primary Care,” focused on identifying gaps within the primary care workforce, possible legislation to alleviate the issue, and the role pharmacists can play within a team-based practice to address shortages.
“How do we make sure that we make pharmacists whole for these contributions that they're making to primary care? I think a lot of that really needs to be looked at and there's groups that are doing it, but I think we need to enhance that,” he continued.
Listen to our full conversation with lead Pharmacy Forecast author Jonathan Watanabe as he discusses the scope of pharmacists’ practice, highlighting past instances of their unique skills within the community and their future potential to be key players within a primary care team.
“I think we're getting better at understanding how collaborative practice agreements can be best developed to maximize. I think it's almost the implementation science of it is now becoming very important. We know that it works, but how to do it in a way that's going to meet the needs of the setting, of the population, that we could show the benefit.”
Stay tuned for weekly podcast episodes on Over the Counter every Thursday afternoon. Check out our previous episode with Joseph DiPiro, PharmD, FCCP, FAAAS, who also played a part in the 2025 Pharmacy Forecast as leading co-editor. In our ongoing podcast series on the ASHP 2025 Pharmacy Forecast, DiPiro introduced the industry-encompassing report and why it’s such a crucial resource for health-system pharmacy.
