The Past, Present, and Futurist Role of the Pharmacy Profession to Achieve Black Health Equity.

Efforts to mitigate racial health inequities by the pharmacy profession are largely hollow. In recent years, the highly publicized murders of Black persons at the hands of police have become a worldwide rallying cry for institutions to make definitive statements that "Black Lives Matter." The movement has, however, yet to manifest substantive institutional changes for entities to reassess the ways in which they, their methodologies, and their teachings have historically and contemporarily contributed to the dissolution of Black lives. The profession of pharmacy explicitly states it is committed to achieving optimal patient outcomes. However, teaching race as a socio-political construct is not an Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) minimal standard requirement. This continued neglect is a disservice to the field and the communities served, and this informative article explores the role of pharmacy in perpetuating physical and psychological harm to patients within Black communities. Conflating race with ancestry and approaching race as a simple biological construction/predictor is misinformed, presumptuous, and simplistic, as well as physically and psychologically harmful to patients. Rather than default to racialized historical myths imbedded in contemporary society, pharmacy must answer the call and undertake definitive action to ensure comprehensive education to better care for Black communities. It is vital that schools and colleges of pharmacy actively seeks to correct curricular neglect based on negative, pseudo-scientific constructions of "race." The field of pharmacy must understand its unique positionality within systems of power to adapt a wholistic and accurate view of race and racism to approach, achieve, and maintain health equity in the United States.

Structural Racism and Supporting Black Lives - A Pharmacist's Vow amid COVID-19.

COVID-19 is disproportionately impacting Black communities in the United States due to racial structures that increase exposure (e.g., densely populated areas, substandard housing, overrepresentation in essential work) and promote underlying diseases that exacerbate COVID-19. This manuscript uses Oath of a Pharmacist as a framework to propose a set of best practices for pharmacists to mitigate inequities such as achieve competence in the ideology of structural racism; identify systems of power that jeopardize Black health; value Black voices; name the socio-structural determinants of health; define race as a socio-political construction; name historical and contemporary racism; apply resources equitably based on need; collect robust data to solve complex problems; diminish bias and view patients holistically in the contexts of inequities; and advocate for Black lives. While race is biological fiction, Black individuals are at an increased risk for COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths than their white counterparts due to navigating generations of racist practices that often converge with other inequities-such as sexism, classism. To describe these racial health disparities, structured, racial disadvantage is commonly ignored while personal choices and clinical care are highlighted as the culprits. Achieving health equity requires comprehension, acceptance, and assessment of structural racism, and pharmacists are highly trusted, uniquely positioned healthcare professionals who, through their knowledge, skills, and resources, can help attenuate the effects of structural racism to support Black lives.