Pharmacist-patient communication amid COVID-19 pandemic: A review of available options and potential impact

Abstract

Communication plays a vital role to ensure the safe and effective use of medicines. Nevertheless, movement restriction measures and social distancing policies amid the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may have introduced a significant communication barrier between pharmacists and patients. As such, there is an urgent need for alternative approaches to continue pharmacist-patient communication for pharmaceutical care activities. This narrative review summarized the use of five alternative approaches to replace traditional face-to-face counselling by pharmacists:  telephone counselling, videoconference, multimedia-mediated counselling, provision of reading materials, and drug reminder packaging. These five approaches may be used interchangeably on their own or as a model of care where different aspects of each approach may be combined to deliver coherent pharmaceutical care.

Experience and attitudes of pharmacists towards challenges and adaptive measures to new norm in ward pharmacy practice during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…The respondents reported different levels of challenges in carrying out ward pharmacy duties. The highest-ranked perceived challenge was medical device counselling, consistent with the findings of other studies [ 5 , 9 , 12 , 17 ]. Social distancing, personal protective equipment (PPE), and the restriction of pharmacist entry into the ward during the COVID-19 pandemic introduced significant communication barriers between pharmacists and patients [ 5 , 9 , 12 , 17 ].…”

“…The highest-ranked perceived challenge was medical device counselling, consistent with the findings of other studies [ 5 , 9 , 12 , 17 ]. Social distancing, personal protective equipment (PPE), and the restriction of pharmacist entry into the ward during the COVID-19 pandemic introduced significant communication barriers between pharmacists and patients [ 5 , 9 , 12 , 17 ]. It hinders pharmacists' ability to demonstrate and reassess medical devices' use effectively.…”

“…It hinders pharmacists' ability to demonstrate and reassess medical devices' use effectively. Patients who used medical devices such as inhalers or insulin pens required continuous patient education and constant assessment of their technique [ 17 ]. The challenges could be overcome by introducing telepharmacy services and providing counselling virtually [ 9 , 12 , 18 ].…”

“…However, implementing electronic medical records could lead to increased financial and time costs, as physicians might need to dedicate more time to managing and updating medical records [ 26 ]. The feasibility of electronic medical records (EMR) [ 9 ], allowing one visitor during a restricted time window, and taking the history via video conferencing [ 17 ] should be studied to aid medication history clerking during the pandemic.…”

Systematic literature review of adopting eHealth in pharmaceutical care during COVID-19 pandemic: recommendations for strengthening pharmacy services

“…The study by Jeminiwa et al demonstrated the effectiveness of eHealth in improving adherence to inhaled corticosteroids among patients with persistent asthma 13. Kilova et al addressed the prospects for ICT in providing OC and how eHealth related technologies had aided in the promotion of patient care during the outbreak of the epidemic 14 15. Another review by Iftinan et al primarily explored the eHealth services which could be used as an immediate alternative to PC for chronically ll patients during an epidemic 16…”