Implementing Electronic Health Records in Community Pharmacy Practice: Insights from developed health systems

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Published: Dec 19, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24083/apjhm.v20i3.4695
Keywords:
Community pharmacy, Electronic health records (EHR), Medication reconciliation, Digital health, Care transitions, Health information exchange (HIE)

Main Article Content

Amina Hareem
Pharmacy, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8292-3233
Julie E. Stevens
Pharmacy, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
Joon Soo Park
University of Western Australia, Australia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2052-558X
Ieva Stupans
Pharmacy, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8193-6905
Julia Gilmartin-Thomas
School of Allied Health, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1783-0161
Kate Wang
Department of Medicine, Western Health (University of Melbourne), Victoria, Australia
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5208-1090

Abstract

Community pharmacists play a critical role in medication management, patient education, and chronic disease support. Yet their ability to provide safe, coordinated, and efficient care is often hindered by limited access to essential clinical information such as medication histories, allergy records, laboratory results, and chronic condition details. Electronic Health Records (EHRs), comprehensive digital systems that enable information sharing across healthcare providers, offer a promising solution. This analysis explores how EHRs can empower community pharmacists to deliver more informed, integrated, and patient-centred care. It also identifies key barriers to pharmacist engagement, including restricted system access, fragmented digital infrastructure, limited interoperability, and insufficient training in digital health tools. To address these challenges, system-level reforms are needed such as investment in digital connectivity, policy changes to formally recognise pharmacists as core members of multidisciplinary care teams, and practical strategies for EHR integration into community pharmacy practice.

Article Details

How to Cite
Hareem, A., Stevens, J. E. ., Park , J. S. ., Stupans, I., Gilmartin-Thomas , J. ., & Wang, K. (2025). Implementing Electronic Health Records in Community Pharmacy Practice: Insights from developed health systems. Asia Pacific Journal of Health Management, 20(3). https://doi.org/10.24083/apjhm.v20i3.4695
Issue
Vol. 20 No. 3 (2025)
Section
Commentary
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Julie E. Stevens, Pharmacy, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia

  1. Pharmacy, School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia
  2. Adelaide Medical School, Faculty of Health & Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  3. Clinical & Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Joon Soo Park , University of Western Australia, Australia

  1. University of Western Australia, Australia,
  2. School of Engineering, Information Technology and Physical Sciences, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia

Julia Gilmartin-Thomas , School of Allied Health, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia

  1. School of Allied Health, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia
  2. Department of Allied Health, Alfred Health, Victoria, Australia
  3. School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
  4. Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Australia