The Ever-Changing Role of Pharmacists During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Crystal Lennartz, VP, General Manager of Health Mart Atlas, spoke to Pharmacy Times about her session at McKesson ideaShare 2022, titled "Pharmacy Beyond the Pill: Clinical Payment Services and Reimbursement."

Crystal Lennartz: Pharmacists played an amazing role during the COVID-19 pandemic, really stepping up to deliver two-thirds of all vaccines to patients, as well as providing access to COVID testing in the community, and in some communities, the ability to partner with providers for test and treat. But even before the pandemic, pharmacists were playing a really important role in public health, being one of the most accessible health care providers. I know for Health Mart and Health Mart Atlas pharmacies, a majority of them are in underserved communities, and that this was especially during the pandemic where they may have been the only provider, the only access to care that patients in the community had.