Senator Reed Introduces Pharmacy Education Aid Act

S. 648. A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act with respect to health professions programs regarding the practice of pharmacy; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Mr. REED. Mr. President, I am pleased to reintroduce the Pharmacy Education Aid Act along with my colleagues, Senator Enzi, Senator Johnson and others. Last year, the Senate recognized and acted to address the growing, nationwide shortage of pharmacists, by creating a demonstration program under the National Health Service Corps whereby pharmacists agree to serve in rural and medically underserved areas in exchange for partial loan repayment. I commend my colleagues for responding in such a strong, bipartisan way to this critically important health care issue. The bill I am introducing today, the Pharmacy Education Aid Act seeks to build on that bipartisan step while taking a multi-faceted approach to the problem of workforce shortages in the pharmacy sector.

The December 2000 Health Resources and Services Administration, HRSA, report, "The Pharmacist Workforce: A Study of the Supply and Demand for Pharmacists" concluded that due to the rapid increase in demand for pharmacists and our limited ability to expand the number pharmacy education programs to train more pharmacists, the shortage was unlikely to abate without significant changes to the current system.

Pharmacists represent the third largest and most trusted health professional group in the United States. In 2000, 190,000 pharmacists were in practice. While this figure is expected to grow to 224,500 by 2010, demand for pharmacists is expected to continue to outpace supply.

These shortages, while particularly acute in rural and medically underserved areas, are felt throughout of health care system. A November 2001 GAO report found that, on average, hospitals report 21 percent of their pharmacist positions are currently unfilled. Vacancy rates are even higher in federal health systems, such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense and the Indian Health Service.

The Pharmacy Education Act seeks to address these chronic shortfalls in the supply and distribution of pharmacists by building upon Title VII of the Public Health Service Act, with particular emphasis on students with the greatest financial need.

In addition to enhancing students' opportunities to pursue an education in pharmacy, the bill also makes available much needed resources to Colleges of Pharmacy to upgrade and expand facilities and laboratory space as well as to recruit and retain talented faculty to educate future generations of pharmacists.

As Congress works to provide a Medicare prescription drug benefit, the need for more pharmacist involvement in health care decision making, including medication therapy management, formulary development and drug utilization review, will be essential to its long-term success. We must address the pharmacist shortage now. As such, I look forward to working with my colleagues towards expeditious consideration and passage of this timely and important legislation.

I ask unanimous consent that a letter of support be printed in the RECORD.