Objective. To determine the impact of emergency preparedness simulations in mass triage and mass dispensing on student pharmacist performance and perceived competency when assuming pharmacist roles in disaster situations.Design. Second-year student pharmacists (144) completed two 3-hour simulations focusing on mass triage and mass dispensing. The mass triage simulation consisted of virtual and live victims to be triaged and assigned a transport order. In the mass dispensing simulation, students assumed patient and pharmacist roles in a point-of-dispensing exercise for influenza.Assessment. For the mass triage simulation, students were challenged most by determining which patients could wait for emergency care but did well assessing those who required immediate or minimal care (83% and 64% correct, respectively). During the mass dispensing simulation, students performed screening and dispensing functions with accuracy rates of 88% and 90%, respectively.Conclusion. Student pharmacists performed well in scre...

Practice‐based research networks (PBRNs) support the translation and evaluation of evidence‐based practices and interventions on a large scale and have primarily been used in primary care settings. Few pharmacy PBRNs exist. Our objective is to describe the composition and characteristics of the Rural Research Alliance of Community Pharmacies (RURAL‐CP), which is the first PBRN exclusively for rural community pharmacies. For each enrolled pharmacy, a pharmacist liaison completed a survey that assessed the pharmacy's operational characteristics, including business operations, human resource management, division of clinical responsibilities, technology and enhanced services, organizational context, and research priorities. Additionally, up to five other pharmacy staff members completed a brief survey on organizational context. Descriptive statistics were calculated. As of May 2023, there were 126 pharmacies across seven southeastern states that were enrolled in RURAL‐CP. Most pharmacies (91%) were independent pharmacies and operated 6 days per week (82%). On average, pharmacies employed 10 staff members and most trained student pharmacists. Pharmacies offered valuable services in their community, including immunizations, naloxone dispensing, and medication delivery. Blood glucose testing was the most common point‐of‐care (POC) test offered, and most pharmacies were interested in expanding POC offerings, particularly A1c testing and cholesterol screening. RURAL‐CP pharmacies have, on average, relatively strong organizational contexts and readiness for change. Pharmacists' top research priorities were expansion of clinical services, reimbursement, patient adherence, and addressing diabetes and hypertension. Although not generalizable to all rural pharmacies, results indicate that rural pharmacies deliver many important services in their communities and are interested in increasing services provided.

Background: Pneumococcal vaccination rates in the United States (US) remain suboptimal, especially for adults aged 19 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions. Community-pharmacy-based immunization services increase vaccine access, particularly in rural areas. This study describes the provision of pneumococcal immunization services, assesses the processes used to identify and confirm patient eligibility, and determines barriers to immunization services in rural community pharmacies. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was emailed to members of the Rural Research Alliance of Community Pharmacies, located in the southeastern US. The survey assessed which pneumococcal vaccines were offered, age groups, prescription requirements, and how patient eligibility was determined. In addition, participants were asked to rate a series of patient-related and organizational barriers to pneumococcal vaccination. Results: Ninety-four pharmacies completed the survey, with most (96.8%) offering pneumococcal vaccines, most commonly PCV20 (95.6%). Most pharmacies vaccinated patients upon request (98.9%) or when patients presented with a prescription (82.4%), but few proactively contacted patients to schedule the vaccination (17.6%). Pharmacists most often administered pneumococcal vaccines to patients aged 65 and older and used patient age and immunization information systems to identify eligible patients. The most common patient-related barrier was the patient’s belief that they do not need the vaccine. The most common organizational barriers were inadequate reimbursements for vaccine administration and vaccine products. Conclusions: Pneumococcal vaccinations are commonly offered in rural community pharmacies, which play an important role in immunization access. With recent guideline changes to the age-based recommendation, there is an opportunity to optimize strategies to increase vaccine uptake.