6 Reasons Patients Should Trust Their Community Pharmacists

Marginalized patients often struggle to trust the health care industry. Here’s why community pharmacists serve as a source of compassion & expertise.

Gallup has been polling Americans on the professionals they trust the most for more than three decades. While many of the rankings have risen—and at times tanked—over the years due to cultural, economic, and technological changes, pharmacists consistently score among the most trusted professionals in the U.S. (in the 2022 poll, the winning trifecta was nurses, medical doctors, and pharmacists).

Ninety percent of Americans live within five miles of a community pharmacy, making pharmacists uniquely accessible to those seeking health advice and care. Yet a history of bias, discrimination, and stigma directed toward patients from the nation’s most underserved communities has often led to mistrust of the health care industry and exacerbated well-grounded wellness disparities caused by social determinants of health.

Avita pharmacists pride themselves in offering compassionate, comprehensive, and culturally competent care to members of marginalized populations, including (but not limited to) the LGBTQ+ community, those living with HIV, and patients with a higher burden of sexual wellness concerns. So, we asked team members for their takes on why patients should look to pharmacists and pharmacy teams as sources of safety, comfort, and expert clinical care.

Patients can trust community pharmacists because:

1. They do so much more than fill scripts:

"Pharmacists have a scope of knowledge into other areas of health care beyond filling prescriptions. Of course, we’re there to talk about drug interactions and doses, but we can also help patients understand how their insurance works and what other options they have to get what they need. We’re intermediaries who can communicate with all the various parties behind patients’ care and advocate to get them resources.”

Alexis Townsend, PharmD, AAHIVP
Pharmacist-in-Charge at Avita’s onsite pharmacy
at Music City PrEP Clinic in Nashville, TN

2. They’re judgment-free (there are no dumb questions):

“When we sign up to be pharmacists, we know patients will approach us. To take care of them, we need an open dialogue and honest conversations. We also know patients’ lives are busy, and it can be hard to juggle their health care needs on top of everything else. No one’s expecting patients to be perfect. Everything in life is a learning experience. When patients share with us, it helps us learn how to better care for them and gives them one less thing to worry about.”

Andy Doan, PharmD, AAHIVP
Pharmacist-in-Charge at Avita’s onsite pharmacy
at ASHwell Sexual Health & Wellness in Austin, TX

5. They’re easy to reach and happy to assist:

“I’m always going to answer the phone. And remember, a pharmacist does have a doctorate in a specialty field. We might not be diagnosing or treating, but we uniquely understand how a drug works inside a patient’s body. We’re happy to sit down with patients and talk about all their medications.”

Hunter Whitworth, PharmD, AAHIVP
Pharmacist-in-Charge at Avita’s onsite pharmacy
at Affinity Health Center in Rock Hill, SC

Avita Pharmacists: Compassionate Care
Patients Can Trust

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Kelley Wyant

Sr. Communications Manager, Content Strategy

With more than 15 years of experience in the fields of content marketing, corporate communications, brand management, and special events, Kelley believes that actionable content that addresses reader challenges will engage audiences every time. She keeps an eye on both the tactical and strategic sides of content marketing, and has crafted everything from copy to editorial plans for organizations in the health care, fintech, SaaS, non-profit, and consumer events arenas. Kelley received her journalism degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

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