Pharmacists’ role, work practices, and safety measures against COVID-19: A comparative study

Abstract

Background The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic poses a great challenge to health systems and their most accessible assets—community pharmacies. Pharmacists faced many challenges such as incorporating safety measures, changes in working schedule and workload, and meeting specific patients’ needs. Objectives This study aimed to explore and compare the community pharmacists’ roles, practices, implemented safety measures, and psychological toll in Croatia and Serbia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A cross-sectional study employing an online survey was conducted in two countries over a period of 6 weeks during 2020. The survey consisted of 65 items that explored sociodemographic characteristics of participants and their workplaces, including safety measures, pharmaceutical care, and their psychology while working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results In total, 574 pharmacists participated in the study, of which 90% were female with a mean age of 38 years (interquartile range 30.5–47). Study identified new pharmacists’ roles that evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic; manufacturing hand sanitizers in community pharmacies, online patient counseling and medicine home delivery. Croatian and Serbian pharmacists exhibited disparities in their incorporated safety measures (higher for Croatia; p ≤ 0.001), satisfaction with work organization and counseling activities (higher for Serbia; p < 0.001). Serbian participants were less satisfied with the public perception of their role during the pandemic, and overall satisfaction was low, with a negative impact on mood and productivity. Conclusions The study revealed the implications for community pharmacists during the pandemic in both countries. The extent of systematic and logistical support provided to them during the pandemic could be an explanation for the highlighted differences. It is imperative to develop a more effective strategy to counter potential health crises to ensure a better response from primary care pharmacists in the future.

The Particularities of Pharmaceutical Care in Improving Public Health Service during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…On the other hand, pharmacies had to stay open, but they had to respect the social distancing, and the staff had to use personal protective equipment (PPE) [ 22 ]. In some countries (e.g., Croatia), the limited PPE supply had determined the authorities to force the pharmacies’ staff to wear face masks only after 13 July 2020 [ 23 ].…”

“…The Croatian Institute of Public Health and the Croatian Chamber of Pharmacists recommended pharmacies to split the shifts. According to this recommendation, many pharmacists from Croatia worked 7 h/day for 7 days, and then 7 days they had to stay at home [ 23 ].…”

“…For example, in the UK, according to NHS guidelines, pharmacies can be closed for a maximum of 2.5 h per day [ 24 ]. However, in Croatia, the Crisis headquarter reduced the working hours of pharmacies to a maximum of 7 h/day (from 8 AM to 5 PM), apart from on-duty pharmacies, while in Serbia, only the schedule of pharmacies located in malls were affected [ 23 ]. A study performed in Romania showed that pharmacies most frequently adjusted their working hours depending on the requirements and conditions generated by the state of emergency [ 37 ].…”

“…The excessive media coverage of chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine led to an increased demand for these drugs [ 23 ]. In April 2020, the American Society for Health-System Pharmacists listed 210 new active shortages [ 41 ].…”

“…These recommendations were sent to pharmacists by means of the national professional organizations. The Croatian Pharmacy Chamber made specific recommendations for the pharmacists regarding safety measures, restrictions concerning the dispensation of specific drugs or PPE [ 23 ]. In Serbia, the FIP guidelines were translated in the Serbian language by the Centre for Pharmacy and Biochemical Practice Development—University of Belgrade and the Pharmaceutical Chamber of Serbia [ 23 ].…”