| Sumario: | Purpose This study assesses patients' utilization of community pharmacist-provided local resources that address social determinants of health (SDOH) Methods This was a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted at one regional division of a community pharmacy chain. Staff was trained to conduct an SDOH screening tool as a part of all comprehensive medication reviews (CMRs) and other clinical services to provide resources to patients to address any identified SDOH barriers. Two weeks after the SDOH screening, a follow-up encounter was conducted to assess their perception of the screening and to evaluate whether they accessed the resources provided to them from the screening. At the end of the study period, we evaluated the number of patients who received an SDOH screening, responded to the follow-up encounter and utilized the referrals provided to them by the pharmacist. Results Of the 65 screenings offered, barriers to care were identified in 12 patients. There was a statistically significant difference between the proportion of patients living in high-scoring versus low-scoring social vulnerable index (SVI) areas who identified barriers to care. (50% versus 9%, 95% Cl, p = 0.018). While most of the patients were unable to connect to the resources provided to them, all of them reported that they planned to connect to the resources in the future and believed that this was a useful service. Conclusions Community pharmacists can help in identifying SDOH barriers for patients, especially for those in communities with a high SVI. There is more work to do in making resources that address these barriers accessible to patients, but patients do see SDOH screening as a valuable service that can be offered by community pharmacies.
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