Community pharmacist’s professional adaptation amid Covid-19 emergency: a national survey on Italian pharmacists

Abstract

Background Italy has been the first non-Asian country affected by Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic. Community pharmacies are essential services authorized to continue their activity during the emergency. To date, a clear image is lacking of the critical issues Italian community pharmacists had to face and of how they responded in their daily work.. Objective To describe procedures and critical logistical-organizational issues encountered by Italian community pharmacists and to collect the main requests reported by patients to pharmacists. Setting A national survey on Italian community pharmacists. Method A cross-sectional survey using a reasoned questionnaire was sent during the pandemic peak to Italian pharmacies, divided in two groups according to the incidence of COVID-19: "Red Zones" and "non-Red Zones". Main outcome measure Exploring the most frequently adopted measures by the pharmacists. Results 169 community Pharmacists answered the questionnaire. The most frequently adopted measures were the use of gloves, surgical masks and protective barriers at the drug counter. Most implemented services for customers were: booking of prescriptions, delivery of medications and implementation of phone consultations. Overall, the questionnaire highlighted an increase in the number of health-related consultations and requests by customers. In Red Zones, there was a higher use of FFP2 and FFP3 masks by pharmacists, where customers were mainly interested in gaining information about specific classes of medications. Conclusion Community pharmacists adapted to lockdown measures by implementing a number of measures. There was an overall increase in pharmacists' personal protective equipment in Red Zones possibly linked to increased risk perception.

Response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic at private retail pharmacies in Kenya: a mixed methods study

“…Despite a feeling of disconnection from the government-led national response, providers expressed great readiness and motivation for provision of COVID-19-related services, similar to providers in Qatar [30], the USA [31], and other settings around the world [32]. The services pharmacies in our study were providing are generally similar to those suggested by experts in the field [22, 33-35], as well as those being provided in other low-to-middle income countries [36-39] and in high-income settings [30, 40, 41].…”

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding COVID-19 among pharmacists partnering with community residents: A national survey in Japan

“…Although the scope of services provided by community pharmacies varies by country, community pharmacies in many countries have a variety of public health roles in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These pharmacies provide appropriate health care services to the local population such as ensuring a stable supply of medicines and hygiene products and providing screening and consultation recommendations for COVID-19, patient education, and psychological support [ 11 , 26 , 27 ]. According to the results of this study, there have been fewer medication-related consultations during the pandemic than previously [ 25 ].…”

“…The most common response from HSP pharmacists to the question of what COVID-19-related information will be needed in the future was accurate epidemiological data ( Table 2 ). A national survey of community pharmacists in Italy [ 27 ] showed that pharmacists’ science-based expertise was highly valued by their clients in the face of uncertain or false information about COVID-19 and related matters; however, no examples were given of pharmacies that also provide epidemiological information. Although numerous epidemiological studies on COVID-19 have been conducted in Japan, few implementation studies have been carried out that can link university researchers with community pharmacies and provide feedback to the field.…”

Patients’ Habits and the Role of Pharmacists and Telemedicine as Elements of a Modern Health Care System during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…As healthcare professionals with high public availability, it was reported that community pharmacists are likely the first option for patient’s health information [ 23 ]. During COVID-19, lockdown pharmacies were the essential services that should keep working [ 24 ]. The pharmacist’s role is education on infection control and preventive measures to reduce virus transmission (e.g., hand hygiene, social distancing, self-isolation) during COVID-19 [ 25 ].…”