Pharmacists provide a broad spectrum of services depending on their practice setting and scope-of-practice laws within their state. Lately, pharmacists have been increasingly used in a variety of ways, taking on roles such as medication therapy management, chronic disease management, patient education, health promotion, and disease prevention. To take on this surge in demand, states are increasing the supply of pharmacists via re-activating licenses for pharmacists who recently left practice, expediting student transition into practice, and emergency authorization of out-of-state license reciprocity.

This brief describes state variation in the supply of pharmacists as well as how pharmacists are responding to the COVID-19 crisis.