Pharmacists' Role In Public Health: Side Effects May Include Hope

Unbiased Science

@unbiasedscipod

Education, Science, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 644 Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2026

⏱️ 39 minutes

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Summary

In this episode, Jess and Sarah welcome Dr. Christina Madison to explore the vital yet underutilized role of pharmacists in the healthcare system. The scientists discuss how pharmacists can significantly improve healthcare access and patient outcomes when empowered to practice at the full scope of their training. Dr. Madison examines the barriers preventing pharmacists from fulfilling their potential as healthcare providers, emphasizing the critical importance of community pharmacies in public health. The conversation addresses the implications of the newly launched TrumpRx program while advocating for greater recognition of pharmacists as essential members of the healthcare team. Throughout the episode, the experts emphasize the importance of building trust in healthcare professionals and leveraging pharmacists' expertise to strengthen the overall healthcare system. Watch the conversation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qoM2n5olkzo Handle @ The Public Health Pharmacist (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn) Handle @ PublicHealthRx (TikTok and X) https://youtu.be/m50-QoIbtZQ https://wapo.st/3OeLC93 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CaEbMUb5RYZ2NwQUb3i-6VQEih_0Dt6G/view (00:00) Intro & Public Health Update (04:16) What's A Health/Science News Item That Caught Your Attention? (10:09) What Does Expanded Access Mean For Communities That Face Barriers To Care? (12:39) Big Chain Pharmacies vs Community Pharmacies (19:38) What Is TrumpRX? (24:57) Who Will TrumpRX Help? (29:09) Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) (32:48) Building Trust With Pharmacists (35:35) What's Giving You Hope In Public Health And Science Right Now? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interested in advertising with us? Please reach out to advertising@airwavemedia.com, with “Unbiased Science” in the subject line. PLEASE NOTE: The discussion and information provided in this podcast are for general educational, scientific, and informational purposes only and are not intended as, and should not be treated as, medical or other professional advice for any particular individual or individuals. Every person and medical issue is different, and diagnosis and treatment requires consideration of specific facts often unique to the individual. As such, the information contained in this podcast should not be used as a substitute for consultation with and/or treatment by a doctor or other medical professional. If you are experiencing any medical issue or have any medical concern, you should consult with a doctor or other medical professional. Further, due to the inherent limitations of a podcast such as this as well as ongoing scientific developments, we do not guarantee the completeness or accuracy of the information or analysis provided in this podcast, although, of course we always endeavor to provide comprehensive information and analysis. In no event may Unbiased Science or any of the participants in this podcast be held liable to the listener or anyone else for any decision allegedly made or action allegedly taken or not taken allegedly in reliance on the discussion or information in this podcast or for any damages allegedly resulting from such reliance. The information provided herein do not represent the views of our employers.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast.
0:20.6	Welcome to Unbiased Science, where we bring scientific method to the madness,
0:26.6	where your host is Dr. Jess Steyer and Dr. Sarah Scheinman.
0:31.6	And you are all going to be thanking us for introducing you to the, I don't know, personification of sunshine, Dr. Christina
0:41.9	Madison, who is the public health pharmacist. We're going to tell you all about her,
0:50.7	but she's joining us today to talk about pharmacists and pharmacists' role in public health.
0:57.6	So before we introduce Dr. Madison, and before we get into it today, you know I love to kick
1:04.5	off every episode with a little bit of a public health update.
1:07.5	And I thought how perfect to discuss the news of Trump R.X launching. Now,
1:15.6	this launched, I forget the exact date, but it was about a week or, well, by the time you
1:21.0	listen to this, it will probably be two weeks ago. And, you know, we did a little sleuthing
1:26.9	of, of the website. There is a very real issue of, you know,
1:31.0	cost of drugs and access to drugs and medications. And so if there is a potential solution,
1:38.6	we're all yours, right? But we did do a little bit of sleuthing and we're going to pick Dr.
1:43.1	Madison's brain. But in short, what we uncovered is that, you know, it appears to be, it's a government website
1:49.8	that lists cash pay prices for 43 brand name drugs.
1:55.3	It does not sell anything to you directly.
1:58.9	It points you basically to manufacture websites or gives you a coupon
2:03.4	for the pharmacy. Now, Good RX has described itself as the integration partner powering
2:11.7	the pricing infrastructure on the site. So the TLDR is that this is mostly a collection of existing manufacturer coupons and
2:20.8	good RX deals, which is repackaged on a dot-gov website. But I'm not a pharmacist, and this is not
2:27.6	my area of expertise. So really definitely want to dig into this more with Dr. Medicine.
	...

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