What Was Performed? A special report that reviewed healthcare-relatedshortages and legislative changes concerning pharmacists’ provider status in effortsto protect and expand consumer access to critical services.Why This Engagement? Under the Delaware Code, it is the State Auditor’s job to offersuggestions to improve efficiency and effectiveness in state government. This special reportevaluates national and state legislative changes that can help improve the effectiveness ofthe state’s healthcare systems and prevent any further loss of professional pharmacyservices in underserved areas.What Was Found?• Healthcare Shortage: There is currently a shortage of roughly 43,000 physicians nationwide,most notably in rural and urban areas.• Poor Access to Care: 25% of Delawareans live in a Health Professional Shortage Area(HPSA), and Delaware ranks 48th in the nation for access to care in a designated HPSA.• Excessive Costs: Delaware has the 5th-highest spending in the country per patient, withmuch of that cost stemming from patients forced to seek medical care at hospitals.• Legislative Solutions: 37 states have passed reimbursement and provider status legislationfor licensed pharmacists to address the healthcare provider shortage. In 2021 alone, 213bills were introduced in 43 states to codify federal and state emergency authority grantedduring the pandemic.• Recommendations: This report contains 3 recommendations and an analysis of benefits ofcomparable legislative changes for key stakeholders (patients, health plans, andpharmacists).The new special report, “Strengthening our Frontlines: Securing Provider Status for Delaware’sPharmacists” can be found here.Under Delaware Code 2909, the State Auditor may produce special reports that examine stateagencies’ performance and offer recommendations for greater accuracy and efficiency, as wellas data, information, and recommendations the auditor deems advisable and necessary.Please do not reply to this email. For any questions regarding the attached report, please contactState Auditor Kathleen K. McGuiness at Kathleen.Mcguiness@delaware.gov.
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