This article discusses the opportunities of information and communication technologies for providing pharmaceutical care in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The global COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a reorientation of the concept of providing health care to large-scale implementation of information technologies to improve the quality of medical and pharmaceutical services for the population. It had a significant impact on pharmacy, which necessitated changes in the management of pharmaceutical care for patients. Rapid and urgent measures were taken by the pharmacists, who found themselves at the forefront. Telepharmacy has proven to be a successful solution in the fight against the virus in the conditions of physical distance. The introduction of modern information and communication technologies worldwide will create significant advantages for more efficient use of resources and management of pharmaceutical care.
The aim of this study was to identify the types of abnormalities associated with neural tube defects (NTDs) and the magnitude of the risk for their expression under the influence of the following factors: maternal age >35 years, consanguinity and season of conception. One hundred and fifty fetuses were autopsied during the period 2006–2009 at the Center for Maternity and Neonatology, Tunisia. A mother’s age of >35 years increases the probability of intrauterine growth retardation by two-fold [odds ratio (OR) 2.043, confidence interval (CI) 0.880–4.741]. Consanguinity increases the relative risk for abnormalities in the facial shape (OR 3.031, CI 1.279–7.183) and adrenal hypoplasia (OR=2.787, CI 1.140–6.814). The autumn-winter period of conception increases the relative risk for the expression of cleft palate by more than nine times (OR 9.035, CI 1.161–70.258) and by about three times for abnormalities of the excretory tract (OR 2.935, CI 0.954–9.141). The prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of NTDs with risk factors such as maternal age >35 years, consanguinity and conception during the autumn-winter period should be targeted to the search for lower-than-normal fetal weight and abnormalities of the excretory tract and the adrenal glands. The head should be examined with special care for deviations in the cranial perimeter and cleft palate.
The application of telepharmacy opens new perspectives in the provision of health services and contributes to limiting the problem of reduced availability of pharmacists. The aim of the present study is to examine the attitudes towards offering and using telepharmaceutical services in Bulgaria. The study included 379 people, mostly health professionals. The mean age of respondents was 44.38±12.39. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics v.23. Over 90% of the respondents use the Internet to search for health information. Many of them read the package leaflet before use. For the most part, respondents are distrustful of food supplements sold on the Internet. More than 56% claim they would not buy prescription medicines online or via a mobile app, even if it was allowed by law. Quite a few would consult a pharmacist for a therapy prescribed at a distance as well as use a mobile application to monitor drug therapy. The spread and acceptance of telepharmacy is a challenge involving cooperation between the public and private sectors, as well as scientific institutions and academia, which is essential for achieving appropriate results and effectively improving health services.
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