Enhancing the role of pharmacists in the cascade of tuberculosis care

Pharmacies in low and middle income countries serve a broad role in health service delivery. Their high numbers, long hours of operation, absence of appointments and user fees, and strong community presence make them highly accessible and desirable points of care within communities that have limited access to more specialized or qualified medical services and. South Africa, for example, has approximately 20,000 pharmacy personnel distributed countrywide; India has over 600,000. In many settings, pharmacists remain the first and only health care provider that patients utilize. Pharmacists can thus play an important role in facilitating optimal pathways to the care of tuberculosis, a disease which affects over 9 million individuals every year.