Healthcare in the United States is often viewed as world-class, yet access to that care remains out of reach for millions of Americans. While the United States' spending per capita is almost twice that of other wealthy countries, that hasn’t fully translated to stronger health outcomes.
According to the CDC, racial and ethnic minority groups experience higher rates of illness and death across a range of health conditions, from diabetes and heart disease to COVID-19. These disparities are especially pronounced in rural and minority populations, where consistent, high-quality pharmacy care is often inaccessible due to geographic, economic, and systemic barriers.
The result? Gaps in medication adherence, unmanaged chronic conditions, and lower overall health outcomes. These are costly not only for individuals but for the healthcare system as a whole.
As we confront these healthcare disparities, telepharmacy emerges as a scalable, innovative solution that brings high-quality pharmacy care directly to the people who need it most. Telepharmacy care can help close these care gaps, improve health equity, and support underserved communities.
Understanding the healthcare access gap
Health equity is defined by the CDC as, “the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health.” To achieve health equity, it begins with understanding the role of social determinants of health (SDOH), which are the nonmedical conditions that influence our health outcomes including where people are born, grow, work, and live. For many rural and minority populations, these determinants create compounding barriers to care that contribute to poorer outcomes. These barriers also directly impact key quality metrics such as HEDIS adherence measures and CMS STAR Ratings, which are essential benchmarks for health plans.
Health barriers in rural communities
In rural areas, where one-fifth of the U.S. population lives, geography alone can pose a major barrier to care. With rural areas at risk of losing hundreds of local hospitals, travel has become a major pain point in the quest for quality healthcare.
Patients often face long travel distances to their nearest pharmacy or provider, which can deter routine visits and delay medication refills. Provider shortages, especially in primary and specialty care, further limit access. In many communities, the pharmacy is the only nearby point of care, and when that pharmacy closes or is understaffed, the health consequences are immediate and far-reaching.
Additionally, workforce limitations in rural regions, fewer clinicians, less access to specialists, and strained infrastructure, create a pharmacy access gap. These conditions can contribute to lower STAR ratings for health plans due to missed medication therapy opportunities and unmanaged chronic conditions.
Barriers to health access in minority populations
For minority communities, access to care is often influenced by socioeconomic status, meaning income, educational background, and occupation. According to the Commonwealth Fund, in some minority communities' poverty rates are higher than the average, levels of pollution and crime are elevated, and green spaces are few. These all contribute to healthcare disparities.
In addition, lack of insurance coverage, transportation, and paid time off to attend appointments are persistent barriers. Language and cultural differences, combined with a history of systemic bias and inequities, lead to mistrust in healthcare institutions. These factors collectively limit engagement in traditional care models, lower patient satisfaction, and worsen health disparities.
The power of telepharmacy in closing care gaps
Telepharmacy is defined as “the provision of pharmaceutical care through telecommunications and technologies to patients who are not at the same site as the physician or pharmacist.”
It allows remote pharmacist consultations, which typically consists of medication therapy management, chronic disease management, and medication adherence support, among other services. With this remote model, telepharmacy expands healthcare access beyond the traditional brick-and-mortar locations, making care available wherever the patient is.
At Aspen RxHealth, we are transforming how remote pharmacist consultations are delivered through remote telepharmacy work. We offer two scalable, flexible telepharmacy solutions, BeWell and Alliance.
BeWell is our web-based medication management platform designed to improve MTM delivery, medication adherence programs, and clinical interventions for remote pharmacists. Our healthcare SaaS solution, Alliance equips in-house clinical teams with the tools, technology, and flexibility needed to deliver high-quality, patient-centered care.
Both solutions support a range of services, from one-time consultations to medication management, chronic disease support, and culturally competent patient engagement.
Benefits of telepharmacy for underserved populations
For populations struggling with limited access to essential health services, the arrival of telepharmacy represents a significant step forward. By leveraging technology to connect patients with pharmacists remotely, this model directly addresses many of the barriers they face.
More specifically, telepharmacy holds the following unique benefits for underserved communities:
- Improved access to care: Patients no longer need to travel long distances to speak with a pharmacist. Quality care can happen at home, on demand.
- Culturally sensitive services: Telepharmacy platforms like BeWell and Alliance, feature language support and culturally competent care, which makes patients feel heard and respected.
- Better medication adherence: Remote pharmacists can follow up with patients, monitor adherence, and address barriers in real time.
- Improved outcomes and lower costs: Effective medication management reduces hospitalizations and improves chronic disease control.
- Stronger pharmacist-patient relationships: A personalized and consistent connection creates trust, satisfaction, and improves health literacy.
Telepharmacy’s collaborative value for pharmacists, providers, and health plans
The true strength of telepharmacy lies in its ability to elevate the roles and outcomes for all key players within the healthcare ecosystem. Rather than functioning as a siloed solution, telepharmacy enables teams to proceed as a collaborative engine, driving distinct benefits for the pharmacists delivering care, the health plans facilitating access, and the providers coordinating comprehensive treatment.
What telepharmacy can do for pharmacists
Telepharmacy encourages pharmacists to expand their clinical impact. No longer limited to physical retail spaces, pharmacists can deliver specialized care, conduct meaningful consultations, and engage patients from diverse backgrounds all from the comfort of their own home.
For many, it also provides a flexible career path, allowing for remote work without compromising clinical excellence. This flexibility can lead to better work-life balance, reduced pharmacist burnout, and increased job satisfaction.
How telepharmacy benefits health plans
Health plans are uniquely positioned to extend their reach through telepharmacy. By integrating remote pharmacy services into their care ecosystems, plans can offer members timely, cost-effective support, especially in regions where traditional access is limited.
With our Alliance SaaS solution, health plans can integrate Alliance with their in-house pharmacy teams virtually, making sure that medication-related interventions happen without delay. No in-house team? No problem. Aspen RxHealth provides clinical solutions such as closing gaps in statin therapies, chronic disease management, medication adherence, and MTM, all delivered by our nationwide network of licensed pharmacists. The result? Higher STAR ratings, improved HEDIS scores, reduced readmissions, and enhanced member satisfaction.
Telepharmacy for healthcare providers
Primary care physicians and specialists benefit when telepharmacy services are integrated into team-based care models. Telepharmacy enables this coordination, making certain that medication issues are addressed as part of a comprehensive care plan.
Our Alliance platform supports this collaboration, allowing in-house care teams to seamlessly incorporate pharmacy consultations into patient journeys. This integration reduces member abrasion and strengthens the overall care experience.
Patient-centered telepharmacy in action
At its core, telepharmacy supports patient-centered care, meaning care that is accessible, empathetic, and personalized. It meets patients where they are, both physically and culturally.
This approach includes:
- Bilingual consultations, which provide clear communication and cultural understanding.
- Cultural humility and tailored education that aligns patients’ values and beliefs.
- Post-discharge medication reconciliation and chronic disease check-ins that keep patients on track.
It’s also about listening. Motivational interviewing (MI), a patient-centered counseling method, helps pharmacists engage patients in their own care journeys, building trust and shared decision-making.
These elements directly align with the goals of the CAHPS (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) survey, which evaluates patient experience and satisfaction. By prioritizing culturally competent care, clear communication, and active patient engagement, telepharmacy helps improve key CAHPS measures such as care coordination, provider communication, and overall patient satisfaction.
Looking ahead: the future of telepharmacy in health equity
Telepharmacy is not a trend; it’s the future of equitable pharmacy care.
Advances in technology will continue to enhance virtual pharmacy platforms, improving data integration, patient engagement, and outcomes tracking. These innovations not only support pharmacists’ careers and health plan goals, but they put patients’ health and dignity first.
Imagine a healthcare landscape where pharmacists are recognized not just as medication experts, but as essential access points, especially in areas where care options are limited. With telepharmacy, that vision becomes achievable. Health plans, too, have a tremendous opportunity to be a leader in pushing telepharmacy as the foundation of their care strategies.
Telepharmacy is a powerful lever in the fight against healthcare disparities. By extending the reach of pharmacy care, no community is left behind: rural or urban, minority or majority.
At Aspen RxHealth, we believe that equitable care begins with access, and telepharmacy is access at scale. Our solutions are designed to support pharmacists, health plans, and providers in delivering impactful, inclusive, patient-centered care.
Contact us today to learn more about how our BeWell and Alliance solutions can help you expand care and improve outcomes, regardless of where your patients live.
