New Jersey Pharmacists’ Perceptions on Performing COVID-19 Testing in Community Pharmacy Practice Sites

Abstract

Background Point of care testing (POCT) for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a major source of its control. On May 13, 2020, NJ pharmacists were authorized to order and perform COVID-19 testing, expanding their role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate NJ pharmacists’ perceptions on the safety and potential consequences of performing COVID-19 testing within their community pharmacy practice sites. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to NJ-registered pharmacists approximately 3 months after the administrative order was issued. Results The survey was completed by 523 recipients (3.39% response rate) and responses from 311 NJ pharmacists practicing in community pharmacy were analyzed. The majority of respondents (83.8%) were not providing testing, while 16.2% were testing at the time of survey distribution. Most testing pharmacists were staff pharmacists with one to five years of experience, working in a pharmacy chain approximately 30-40 hours per week. Those not testing identified lack of a pharmacy drive-through, insufficient staff, and potential workflow disruption as reasons for not testing. Increased workload and fear of spreading the virus to others were concerns noted by both testers and non-testers. Conclusion Overall, NJ pharmacists reported mixed perceptions regarding performing COVID-19 testing. Challenges and barriers to pharmacist COVID-19 testing, including inadequate staffing and space, and concerns about reimbursement and disruption to workflow were identified. Findings may serve as a guide to design and implement strategies to overcome barriers.

Community pharmacist‐provided test and treat programs for acute infectious conditions

“…[26][27][28] As stated previously, with the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic, community pharmacies have also been a major site for COVID-19 testing. 4,[29][30][31][32][33] To identify clinical studies for this narrative review, a Pubmed search was conducted in November 2022 using the search terms "pharmacy point-of-care testing" and either "influenza," "pharyngitis,"…”

“…Two studies examined the number of community pharmacies testing for COVID-19 in certain states, with one of the studies also assessing pharmacists' perceptions of the process. 30,33 Another study examined the success of implementing COVID-19 testing in a state. 31 Another study looked at the success of credentialing pharmacists for billing for COVID-19 testing.…”

“…32 The results of these five studies show that, in general, there is support for implementing COVID-19 testing in community pharmacies, pharmacists are willing to perform COVID-19 testing, and patients are very satisfied with COVID-19 testing processes in community pharmacies. All studies mentioned barriers to implementing disease state management programs or POCT, with the most common barriers being disruption of workflow and lack of reimbursement measures [29][30][31][32][33]35 ; see Table 1 for more details of the studies. 18,[20][21][22][23][24][25][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] While the above studies evaluated outcomes following implementation of community-pharmacy POCT, another study examined pharmacists' perceptions of influenza and streptococcal testing and treating in chain pharmacies.…”

“…All studies mentioned barriers to implementing disease state management programs or POCT, with the most common barriers being disruption of workflow and lack of reimbursement measures [29][30][31][32][33]35 ; see Table 1 for more details of the studies. 18,[20][21][22][23][24][25][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] While the above studies evaluated outcomes following implementation of community-pharmacy POCT, another study examined pharmacists' perceptions of influenza and streptococcal testing and treating in chain pharmacies. In a survey sent to large national supermarket chain pharmacies in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas, it was found that a majority of surveyed pharmacists were willing to perform POCT in a community pharmacy practice and recommend treatment for influenza and streptococcal pharyngitis.…”

“…Seventy-five T A B L E 1 Studies of U.S. Community Pharmacies' Implementation of Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA)-waived point-of-care testing (POCT) for Acute Infectious Pathogens. 18,[20][21][22][23][24][25][29][30][31][32][33][34] percent of the "niche group" were willing to pay $50 or more for pharmacy POCT services. 39 Results from this survey also suggest that consumer demand for testing in community pharmacies is likely higher for infectious diseases like influenza and GAS compared to chronic conditions like diabetes.…”