Chinese pharmacists’ rapid response to the COVID-19 outbreak

Abstract

The Letters column is a forum for rapid exchange of ideas among readers of AJHP. Liberal criteria are applied in the review of submissions to encourage contributions to this column.The Letters column includes the following types of contributions: (1) comments, addenda, and minor updates on previously published work, (2) alerts on potential problems in practice, (3) observations or comments on trends in drug use, (4) opinions on apparent trends or controversies in drug therapy or clinical research, (5) opinions on public health issues of interest to pharmacists in health systems, (6) comments on ASHP activities, and (7) human interest items about life as a pharmacist. Reports of adverse drug reactions must present a reasonably clear description of causality.Short papers on practice innovations and other original work are included in the Notes section rather than in Letters. Letters com-menting on an AJHP article must be received within 3 months of the article's publication.Letters should be submitted electronically through http://ajhp.msubmit.net. The following conditions must be adhered to: (1) the body of the letter must be no longer than 2 typewritten pages, (2) the use of references and tables should be minimized, and (3) the entire letter (including references, tables, and authors' names) must be typed double-spaced. After acceptance of a letter, the authors are required to sign an exclusive publication statement and a copyright transferal form. All letters are subject to revision by the editors.

The Role of Hospital and Community Pharmacists in the Management of COVID-19: Towards an Expanded Definition of the Roles, Responsibilities, and Duties of the Pharmacist

“…Hospital and community pharmacist communities have quickly reacted to the ongoing pandemic [ 17 , 18 ]. On February 5th 2020, the “International Pharmaceutical Federation” (FIP) has published a guidance entitled “Coronavirus 2019-nCoV outbreak: Information and interim guidelines for pharmacists and the pharmacy workforce”.…”

“…These guidelines have been adapted based on the context and setting of each country, for instance, the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association (CPA) has issued a separate expert consensus, entitled the “Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Expert Consensus on Hospital Pharmaceutical Work Guidance and Prevention and Control Strategies”, followed by the “Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Expert Consensus on Work. Guidance and Prevention and Control Strategies for Retail Pharmacies” [ 17 ].…”

“…In the United States, the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Pharmacists Association (APA), and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHSP) have issued similar guidelines [ 17 ].…”

“…Besides refill extensions, therapeutic substitution has been another service provided by pharmacists during the outbreak. Guaranteeing continuity of care is, indeed, extremely important during crises, especially in rural and underserved areas [ 17 ].…”

Need for more proactive use of pharmacists in the COVID-19 pandemic following lessons learnt from the Great East Japan Earthquake

“…However, it appeared that the lessons learnt in past major disasters, particularly with regard to drug or sanitary material were not applied during the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan. The role of pharmacists in the COVID-19 pandemic, including drug supply and pharmacotherapy planning ( Table 1 ), has been gradually reported [ 9 ]. On the other hand, according to Japanese guideline regarding “temporary pharmaceutical distribution at the large-scale disaster” [ 6 ], under the leadership of local governments, physicians, pharmacists, local pharmaceutical wholesalers and others have to work together and build systems to ensure drug delivery, with no shortages or coverage at the time of a disaster.…”