‍Pharmacy community health workers, and their clinical pharmacists, blend the best local flavor, trusted friendship, and clinical care, benefiting each patient. For healthcare to be efficacious and cost-effective, it must begin early. It needs to begin in the community and neighborhoods, brought to you by people who care.

Encounter data versus dispensing data is a critical differentiation in today’s medical world. As healthcare professionals, we need to focus more on capturing encounter data.

To achieve health equity, especially in vulnerable populations, healthcare needs to be delivered on the street, in the neighborhood, on the porch, in the living room, or around the kitchen table.

The world of U.S. healthcare is moving to value-based care and providing that care equitably. Pharmacy can lead that move, as no one is closer to the patient than their pharmacist. It’s not easy. Sometimes it feels like going through Hell. Keep the faith. Keep going.

Healthcare needs to go beyond any clinic or pharmacy walls. It needs to go to public gatherings, onto porches, and into living rooms. We need to help people where they live, not just where we work.

While healthcare analytics might add efficiencies, they too often fail to address what truly matters: patient health.

Community health workers play a critical role by helping lonely patients feel connected.

Community Health Workers (CHWs) stand at the intersection of healthcare and health equity. They are the new faces providing care to high-risk populations.