A handful of community pharmacies in Nebraska, including several in Omaha, are offering Test to Treat — a program under the auspices of the office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), in which patients can take a rapid test for COVID-19 and, if positive, immediately fill a prescription for oral antiviral treatment.
The Test to Treat program to fight COVID-19, first announced by President Biden during his State of the Union address, is the culmination of a years-long project conceived and developed by the UNMC College of Pharmacy. UNMC and its collaborator, Ferris State University in Michigan, also developed the national certificate program under which many of the pharmacists who will participate in the program have been trained and accredited.
"Back in 2012, we saw an opportunity for pharmacists to expand patient access to care through collaborative point-of-care testing services or what ASPR calls ‘Test to Treat,’" said Donald Klepser, PhD, associate dean for academic affairs in the UNMC College of Pharmacy, one of the developers of the national training program.
Use the Test to Treat locator to find a location near you.
"We developed the certificate program so that pharmacists would be prepared to work with physicians and other members of the health care team."
Said Dean Keith Olsen, PharmD, "The college of pharmacy has been an innovator in point-of-care testing for nearly a decade to enhance patient access and care, and we have advocated for a collaborative practice with our physician colleagues."
Test to Treat is a one-stop shop, "so people can get tested at a pharmacy and if they’re positive receive antiviral pills on the spot at no cost," Biden said.
The secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, has authorized pharmacists to administer covered COVID-19 therapeutics.
Community pharmacists across the country in recent years already have been doing test to treat for flu, strep and other acute and chronic conditions, thanks to the training program developed in Nebraska. UNMC research has validated the community pharmacy test to treat concept as an effective health care delivery model.
Following a positive rapid lab test result, pharmacists immediately can fill prescriptions to treat identified illnesses. Pharmacists are not themselves writing prescriptions but working under strict protocol set by prescribing physicians per state law.
The UNMC College of Pharmacy, with its partner Ferris State, has driven the national conversation regarding the evolving role of pharmacists in point-of-care testing and other patient-centered health care measures.
Great work, Dr. Klepser! Exciting to see this project in action!