UCSF Health Pharmacies Redefine Patient-Centered Care

Nearly a year since they opened their doors to UCSF patients, employees, and the public, UCSF Health’s two outpatient pharmacies — one at Mission Bay and one at the Parnassus Heights campus — have made significant strides in delivering seamless new services, sustainable, innovative practices, and pharmacy education to learners.

Since opening in October 2024, the pharmacies have been busy not only filling prescriptions and providing medication education, but also providing vaccination and HIV preexposure therapy services, with more clinical services planned. The pharmacy team also works to ensure patients can access their medications at the lowest cost. 

“A lot is happening behind the scenes and behind the counter when a pharmacist fills people's prescriptions, and there can be a lot of communication needed with the providers to clarify or adjust a prescription, to ensure safe and effective medication therapy,” said UCSF Health Assistant Chief Pharmacy Officer, Clinical Innovation, Education and Research Lisa Kroon, PharmD. “We’re providing comprehensive care.” 

The new services build on the UCSF School of Pharmacy’s legacy of clinical innovation. Back in the 1960s, the Ninth-Floor Project was among the first in the nation to begin embedding pharmacists into patient care teams at hospitals. The role of the pharmacist in providing both expertise and access at UCSF has been growing ever since, with the school more integrated than ever before in this ongoing evolution. 

Meds-to-beds: bridging hospital to home 

One of the most immediate successes has been the “meds-to-beds" program, where patients receive their discharge medications along with medication education before leaving the hospital. The program ensures smoother discharges, reduced delays in starting new therapies, and fewer readmissions linked to missed medications. 

“Now that we have our pharmacies, we’re providing better transition of care,” said UCSF Health Director of Outpatient Pharmacy Services Myra Pascua, PharmD. “From acute care to outpatient services to following up in the ambulatory setting, we’re closing the loop of transition to ensure that patients have access to their medications and understand how to take them before they leave the hospital.” 

Smarter, safer care through integrated health records 

Unlike a typical pharmacy counter, UCSF Health’s outpatient sites are designed to function as extensions of the clinic and hospital. Pharmacists have direct access to the UCSF electronic health record, allowing them to check labs, monitor kidney and liver function, and contact prescribers to adjust doses and medication regimens as needed before dispensing. 

“We have access to a lot of health information that, in most community pharmacies, the pharmacists unfortunately don’t have,” said Kroon, who is also a clinical pharmacy professor at the UCSF School of Pharmacy. “If you're a UCSF patient taking certain medications, we can do a lot of clinical assessment more efficiently, without adding to the burden of a prescriber.” 

The pharmacies also can meet highly specialized needs through compounding. UCSF Health pharmacists and pharmacy technicians can prepare treatments that are customized for patients whose needs can’t be met by standard products, so that even patients with rare conditions have access to the right medications. 

“Patients who come to UCSF can be more medically complex and may have high-touch medications that require special ordering, or special authorization from health insurance,” said Pascua. “At our Mission Bay pharmacy, we provide both sterile and non-sterile compounds, and we also have a dual-accredited specialty pharmacy.” 

New access points for vaccinations and other injectable medications 

The outpatient pharmacies have become vaccination hubs for both UCSF patients, employees and learners, with flu and COVID-19 shots available by appointment and through regular walk-in hours and pop-up clinics. Beyond routine and seasonal immunizations, the pharmacies also offer travel vaccines — including yellow fever, a travel vaccine that requires a specific pharmacy certification. 

“When patients see their primary care providers, it can be difficult to fit in vaccinations,” Kroon said. “But now we have another access point for those medications, which is a need that was identified by our primary care physicians and our patients.” 

New services are expanding, with long-acting injectable medications now available for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Future plans include antipsychotic and cardiology therapies, as well as medication therapy management and smoking cessation. 

“We’re more than just dispensing pharmacies,” said Pascua. “We really look at the appropriateness of therapy.” 

Education partnership, innovation, and sustainability 

For students in the UCSF School of Pharmacy, the pharmacies also provide a living classroom. Pharmacists precept students, exposing them to interprofessional and interdisciplinary teamwork. 

Behind the counter, UCSF Health outpatient pharmacies are also advancing sustainability. Styrofoam shipping coolers have been replaced with environmentally friendly versions, aluminum bottles are being explored for packaging as an alternative to plastic, and a medication take-back kiosk is coming soon to help patients safely dispose of unused drugs. 

On the operations side, the pharmacies are testing innovative billing options, which could create a model for outpatient pharmacy care beyond UCSF. “We are building a best-in-class health system for outpatient pharmacy,” said Kroon.