Clinical Pharmacy Roles: Growth & Staffing Challenges | ASHP

U.S. hospitals are increasingly integrating pharmacists into clinical care, but many are struggling to fill roles and maintain staff, according to the 2024 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists National Survey of Pharmacy Practice in Hospital Settings.

More than 75% of hospitals now assign pharmacists to provide direct care to most inpatients, with the highest clinical involvement in general medical-surgical (73.3%), critical care (68.5%), oncology (56.9%), cardiology (48.5%), infectious disease (48.1%) and emergency departments (46.5%).

Despite the growth, hospitals report significant challenges across the pharmacy workforce. Nearly 88% cited shortages of experienced pharmacy technicians and more than 92% reported shortages of sterile-compounding technicians. About 60% of hospitals also reported shortages of clinical pharmacy specialists and 64% reported a shortage of entry-level technicians.

The survey included responses from 250 hospitals, with results weighted to provide national estimates.