Evidence-Based Pharmacist Care: Prescribing

This chapter explores the evolving role of pharmacists in prescribing, highlighting its clinical, economic, and humanistic impacts. Pharmacist prescribing includes independent, collaborative, and protocol-based models, allowing pharmacists to initiate, adjust, or discontinue medications in diverse healthcare settings. Clinically, this practice improves medication access, chronic disease management, adherence, and preventive care, while reducing adverse drug events and hospitalizations. Economically, pharmacist prescribing enhances healthcare efficiency through optimized medication use, reduced physician workload, and lower treatment costs. From a humanistic perspective, it empowers patients through timely care, improved quality of life, and greater engagement in treatment decisions. The chapter also addresses key facilitators—such as collaborative practice agreements, technology, and advanced training—and barriers including regulatory limitations, reimbursement challenges, and interprofessional resistance. As healthcare systems shift toward patient-centered, teambased care, pharmacist prescribing is positioned to become an essential component of integrated, accessible, and cost-effective healthcare delivery.