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Requests for License Transfer Continue to Climb Following High National Demand for Pharmacists
The number of license transfer requests submitted though the NABP Electronic Licensure Transfer Program® (ELTP®) climbed modestly from 2009 to 2010, with a total of 13,614 requests in 2010. This number represents a 3.6% increase, or 473 requests more than the 2009 total of 13,141. While the increase is modest over the previous year, the total number of requests for 2010 shows a continued high demand for license transfer requests relative to earlier in the decade. This continued demand may be driven by the increasing need for health care services and the particularly high demand for pharmacists, even with the effects of the lingering national economic recession.
Since the large increase in transfer requests occurring in 2008, the number of requests has remained above 13,000, or about 50% higher than the peak ELTP activity for the years 2000-2007. Prior to the large increase in 2008, the highest number of total requests was 8,257 requests in 2007.
In 2010, the highest numbers of requests to transfer licensure to a state were seen for Texas with 985 requests, Virginia with 709 requests, Florida with 669 requests, and New York with 642. The number of requests to transfer to Texas showed a 53.9% increase from 2009 to 2010.
These request totals seem to correlate with the particularly high demand for pharmacists in these states. According to the Pharmacy Manpower Project Inc, which tracks and reports data on the need for pharmacists through the monthly Aggregate Demand Index (ADI) report, there remains a demand for pharmacists throughout the country. With a ranking of 1 indicating little need or a surplus of pharmacists, and a ranking of 5 indicating a great need for and difficulty filling pharmacist positions, the average ADI for all states was 3.38 in October 2010. The highest demand in October 2010 was seen in Texas with an ADI ranking of 4.13. Virginia and New York also have a strong demand, rated at 3.2 and 3.64 respectively. There is also demand in Florida, with a 3 indicating a balance in the need for and supply of pharmacists. Florida’s lower ADI ranking – compared with Texas, Virginia, and New York – could correlate with the fact that the number of pharmacist ELTP requests originating in Florida for transfer to another state is almost the same as the number of requests to transfer licensure to Florida, 667 and 669 respectively.
ADI data correlations with ELTP statistics, suggest that, even in the midst of the economic recession, some pharmacists have been able to follow opportunities as they arise in certain states or regions. Also, some of these opportunities for pharmacists – such as employment in a border state, or opportunities in the mail-order pharmacy environment – may require multi-state licensure. Over 75%, or approximately 5,897 of the 7,716 ELTP applications received, requested licensure transfer to two or more states.
The United States Department of Labor reports that, relative to the demand for other professionals, the need for pharmacists is high. As of the end of 2010, “pharmacist” is among the top 30 professional occupations with job openings in Texas, Virginia, Florida, and New York.
While not showing significantly high total numbers, four additional states had a significant increase in requests in 2010 as compared with 2009. Wyoming showed the greatest increase with 87.2% more requests to transfer to the state, climbing from 47 requests in 2009 to 88 requests in 2010. Additional states with the significant proportionate growth in requests to transfer licensure to the state were Alaska with a 74% increase (58 to 101 requests), California with a 63% increase (214 to 349 requests), and Louisiana with a 57% increase (193 to 303 requests). While the number of open positions reported by the US Department of Labor may be relatively small in Wyoming, the state has shown proportionate growth in demand, and a corresponding growth in ELTP requests.
Pennsylvania and Florida had the highest number of requests to transfer originating from their state, and both also had a high number of requests to transfer licensure to the state. The number of license transfer requests originating from Pennsylvania was 599 and the number of requests to Pennsylvania was 560. As noted above, Florida requests to transfer to and from were almost equal.
Overall, it seems that the high demand for pharmacists, particularly in certain states, has created new opportunities for pharmacists to consider in 2010, even in the midst of a continuing national economic recession.
According to the US Department of Labor, the need for pharmacists is expected to continue growing at least until 2018. At the same time, the recent discussion paper released by American Pharmacists Association and American Society of Health-System Pharmacists cautions that an employment market with a surplus of pharmacists could be on the horizon.
“With pharmacists’ needs to prepare for opportunities outside of their original state of licensure, NABP will ensure that the corresponding need for license transfer and multi-state licensure continues to be facilitated by the ELTP process,” noted President William T. Winsley, MS, RPh. “Particularly as boards of pharmacy are challenged with restricted budgets and staff reductions, ELTP remains a vital service to support the boards as they provide the essential function of granting licensure.”
