The challenges of COVID-19 for community pharmacists and opportunities for the future

Hayden, John; Parkin, Rebecca

doi:10.1017/ipm.2020.52

Cited by 106 publications

(112 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

106

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Work with patients with chronic NCDs to increase their supply of medicines ( Table 6 ) and enhance adherence to these especially where it can be difficult for patients to attend clinics; alongside this work with patients where possible to help address issues of mental health ( Basu (2020) , Hayden and Parkin (2020) )…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid Assessment of the Potential Paucity and Price Increases for Suggested Medicines and Protection Equipment for COVID-19 Across Developing Countries With a Particular Focus on Africa and the Implications

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Countries across Africa and Asia have introduced a variety of measures to prevent and treat COVID-19 with medicines and personal protective equipment (PPE). However, there has been considerable controversy surrounding some treatments including hydroxychloroquine where the initial hype and misinformation led to shortages, price rises and suicides. Price rises and shortages were also seen for PPE. Such activities can have catastrophic consequences especially in countries with high co-payment levels. Consequently, there is a need to investigate this further.Objective: Assess changes in utilisation, prices, and shortages of pertinent medicines and PPE among African and Asian countries since the start of pandemic.Our approach: Data gathering among community pharmacists to assess changes in patterns from the beginning of March until principally the end of May 2020. In addition, suggestions on ways to reduce misinformation.Results: One hundred and thirty one pharmacists took part building on the earlier studies across Asia. There were increases in the utilisation of principally antimalarials (hydroxychloroquine) and antibiotics (azithromycin) especially in Nigeria and Ghana. There were limited changes in Namibia and Vietnam reflecting current initiatives to reduce inappropriate prescribing and dispensing of antimicrobials. Encouragingly, there was increased use of vitamins/immune boosters and PPE across the countries where documented. In addition, generally limited change in the utilisation of herbal medicines. However, shortages have resulted in appreciable price increases in some countries although moderated in others through government initiatives. Suggestions in Namibia going forward included better planning and educating patients.Conclusion: Encouraging to see increases in the utilisation of vitamins/immune boosters and PPE. However, concerns with increased utilisation of antimicrobials needs addressing alongside misinformation, unintended consequences from the pandemic and any appreciable price rises. Community pharmacists and patient organisations can play key roles in providing evidence-based advice, helping moderate prices through improved stock management, and helping address unintended consequences of the pandemic.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid Assessment of the Potential Paucity and Price Increases for Suggested Medicines and Protection Equipment for COVID-19 Across Developing Countries With a Particular Focus on Africa and the Implications

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19-infected individuals involves a greater psychological impact [ 11 ]. Permanent fear of infection due to insufficient social distancing in pharmacies, aggressive patient behavior and higher stress levels could affect cognitive functioning in pharmacists and could weaken their attention [ 1 , 12 ]. Community pharmacists have also been involved in the screening and triage of COVID-19 patients ( Figure 1 ), as well as in ensuring continuity of care for non-COVID-19 illnesses and promoting pharmacological adherence, which further increased the negative impact on their well-being [ 2 , 9 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Community pharmacists have also been involved in the screening and triage of COVID-19 patients ( Figure 1 ), as well as in ensuring continuity of care for non-COVID-19 illnesses and promoting pharmacological adherence, which further increased the negative impact on their well-being [ 2 , 9 ]. However, pharmacists have shown a trustworthy attitude regarding the adoption of protective measures ( Figure 1 ), despite the increased risk of burnout [ 8 , 10 , 12 ]. They even provided surveillance of suspicious cases, symptoms-related counselling and advice to patients on whether they should be quarantined or not, depending on their clinical manifestations ( Figure 1 ) [ 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Community pharmacists are involved in pharmacovigilance activities and are able to educate and counsel individuals regarding both the pharmacotherapeutic approach of the COVID-19 infection and the proper use of personal protective equipment and sanitizers ( Figure 1 ) [ 2 , 7 , 12 ]. Pharmacists are also able to communicate effectively in order to combat the flood of misinformation regarding COVID-19 and discourage dangerous self-medication [ 7 , 8 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. Moreover, pharmacists could play a key role in the prevention and containment of COVID-19 pandemic, promoting patients’ adherence to prophylactic immunomodulatory treatment (such as vitamins C and D); they could also promote vaccination and support vaccinovigilance ( Figure 1 ) [ 2 , 7 , 8 , 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Influence of COVID-19 on Health-Related Quality of Life and the Perception of Being Vaccinated to Prevent COVID-19: An Approach for Community Pharmacists from Romania and Bulgaria

Turcu-Știolică

Bogdan

Subtirelu

et al. 2021

JCM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Community pharmacists are essential front-line health workers, involved in relieving the COVID-19 burden. Their health-related quality of life status needs to be assessed, as lower levels could affect their functioning. In order to evaluate the current status of community pharmacists’ quality of life from Romania and Bulgaria during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify factors associated with their decision on being vaccinated to prevent COVID-19, an online survey involving 395 community pharmacists was conducted from July 15th, 2020 to August 15th, 2020. The 15D instrument was used for quality-of-life assessment. The pharmacists’ recommendations for vitamin C and D intake during the COVID-19 pandemic were also analyzed in order to promote future training programs for community pharmacists. Descriptive statistics, comparative analyses between pharmacists from Romania and Bulgaria, and multiple correlation analyses were performed on the collected data. Significant differences were observed for the level of quality of life between the two groups of pharmacists according to their age; smaller values, directly correlated with their age (total 15D score and age: Spearman r = 0.168, p = 0.022), were obtained for Bulgarian pharmacists regarding sleeping, usual activities, mental function, discomfort and symptoms, depression, distress. The perception of being vaccinated did not differ between Romanian and Bulgarian pharmacists, as almost 50% agreed to vaccination (p = 0.7542). Their willingness to vaccinate was correlated with vitamin D usage (p = 0.0134), rather than with vitamin C (p = 0.4157). No other significant associations were found between willingness to get vaccinated to prevent COVID-19 and other characteristics (age, gender, income, quality-of-life markers). Evidence-based interventions are required to enhance the health-related quality of life of community pharmacists involved in the first line of the COVID-19 pandemic.

show abstract

“…Masks and hand disinfectants are usually sold in community pharmacies, which are usually highly accessed by the public for obtaining medications and health-related products and information ( Hayden and Parkin, 2020 , Zheng et al, 2020 ). Thus, pharmacies are expected to shoulder the responsibility of spreading knowledge about COVID-19 and should promote the use of preventive measures to help communities survive this outbreak ( Basheti et al, 2020 , Cadogan and Hughes, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community pharmacy services and preparedness during COVID-19 outbreak in Madinah, Saudi Arabia

Khojah

2020

Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Wearing facial masks, hand hygiene, and social distancing are highly recommended preventive measures against COVID-19. Masks and disinfectants are usually sold in community pharmacies that are supposed to undertake extreme precautions to avoid cross infection among clients. It is also their responsibility to play a prominent role in educating the community regarding this outbreak. Objectives To investigate the preparedness of private community pharmacies in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, for the COVID-19 outbreak with regard to safety measures, customer education, and quality of preventive aids sold by them. Methods One hundred pharmacies were visited by simulated clients. The availability of free hand disinfectants, masks, gloves, and customer educational aids as well as the measures employed to ensure maintenance of safe distances between customers were documented. The adherence of pharmacists and customers to safety precautions and the behavior of pharmacists against violators of regulations were also observed. Finally, the availability and quality of facial masks and hand disinfectants sold by these pharmacies was documented. Results Fifty-five pharmacies offered free hand disinfectants but only in three of them all customers used them. Only two pharmacies offered free disposable masks and temperature screening was available in only one pharmacy. Educational aids were found in 31 pharmacies and only 53 pharmacies used visual indicators for social distancing. Violation of wearing masks by pharmacy personnel and customers was seen in 34 and 87 pharmacies, respectively. Social distancing was violated in 64 pharmacies and intervention by staff was seen in only three of them. Finally, facial masks were available for sale in only 35 pharmacies, and in 23 of these, the quality was questionable; hand disinfectants were available in 84 pharmacies, and in 14 of these, the quality was unknown. Conclusions Community pharmacies in Madinah were short of registered, high-quality facial masks during the survey. Means to control the transmission of infection inside pharmacies were unsatisfactory. Society has shown poor compliance to preventive measures against COVID-19 infection and the role of community pharmacists in promoting compliance was found to be poor. The study reveals an unsatisfactory level of preparedness of Madinah community pharmacies for the pandemic.

show abstract

The challenges of COVID-19 for community pharmacists and opportunities for the future

Cited by 106 publications

References 25 publications

Rapid Assessment of the Potential Paucity and Price Increases for Suggested Medicines and Protection Equipment for COVID-19 Across Developing Countries With a Particular Focus on Africa and the Implications

Rapid Assessment of the Potential Paucity and Price Increases for Suggested Medicines and Protection Equipment for COVID-19 Across Developing Countries With a Particular Focus on Africa and the Implications

Influence of COVID-19 on Health-Related Quality of Life and the Perception of Being Vaccinated to Prevent COVID-19: An Approach for Community Pharmacists from Romania and Bulgaria

Community pharmacy services and preparedness during COVID-19 outbreak in Madinah, Saudi Arabia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About