Global Lessons From FIP: How Pharmacists Can Elevate OTC Allergy Care

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At the 2025 FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Copenhagen, Denmark, global pharmacy leaders underscored a clear trend: pharmacists are increasingly positioned as frontline providers in self-care and over-the-counter (OTC) engagement. In this episode of Pharmacy Focus, Derek Webb, PharmD, director of government affairs at Empower Pharmacy and member of the Virginia Board of Pharmacy, and Dennis Williams, PharmD, BCPS, AE-C, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, examine how those international models—particularly in allergy management—compare to day-to-day practice in the United States.

Internationally, pharmacists are taking a more proactive role in initiating conversations about allergy symptoms, guiding product selection, and ensuring appropriate therapy based on patient-specific factors. Rather than waiting for patients to self-select OTC products, pharmacists in many countries operate within expanded scopes of practice that allow for more structured consultation and medication selection authority. This model reinforces pharmacists as accessible, trusted clinicians within evolving health systems.

Webb reflects on how these approaches contrast with the workflow pressures and retail realities facing US community pharmacies while also identifying practical strategies that could be implemented domestically. These include better team training, workflow adjustments to encourage pharmacist-initiated OTC discussions, and a stronger emphasis on allergy education at the point of care.

Williams offers an educator’s perspective, emphasizing the responsibility of pharmacy schools to prepare future pharmacists for leadership in self-care. He discusses how curriculum and experiential learning must reinforce clinical confidence in allergy management and OTC counseling, particularly as conversations around scope expansion continue in the US.

Together, Webb and Williams highlight that advancing pharmacist-led allergy care does not necessarily require sweeping regulatory changes—but it does require intentional culture shifts, workflow empowerment, and recognition of the pharmacist’s central role in everyday self-care.

Be on the lookout for the next part of this conversation with Webb and Williams, coming on February 17, 2026.