Contributions and challenges of community pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background Healthcare services across the world have been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In primary care, community pharmacists have had an important role in the frontline healthcare response to the pandemic. Objectives This study aimed to explore the experiences, contributions and perceived challenges of community pharmacists regarding the provision of healthcare services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with community pharmacists in France. Participants were recruited through a professional organization of pharmacists combined with a snowballing technique. Interviews were transcribed and then analyzed using thematic analysis. Results A total of 16 community pharmacists participated in the interviews. Study participants described providing a range of novel services in response to the pandemic on top of continuing their usual services. All participants described providing preventative services to reduce and mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2, such as education on hygiene and social distancing, delivery of face masks and hand sanitizer and adjusting pharmacy premises. Most respondents also described being involved in SARS-CoV-2 detection through screening and performing antigen testing in pharmacies. Participants reported being actively involved in COVID-19 vaccination by educating the general public about vaccines, facilitating their distribution to general practitioners as well as administering vaccines. Over half the respondents described rapidly changing guidelines and service users’ anxiety as challenges to the provision of healthcare services during the pandemic. Conclusions This study suggests that community pharmacists have significantly contributed to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic by ensuring continuity of pharmaceutical services and providing novel screening, testing and vaccination services. Their roles and responsibilities during the COVID-19 health crisis indicate that they can play an important role in the management of emerging infectious diseases.

The National Implementation of a Community Pharmacy Antimicrobial Stewardship Intervention (PAMSI) through the English Pharmacy Quality Scheme 2020 to 2022

“…Qualitative research in France and a UK survey of pharmacy professionals who had pledged to be an Antibiotic Guardian found good knowledge of AMR and motivation to engage in AMS initiatives [ 26 , 27 , 28 ]. The Antibiotic Guardian survey found significant differences in knowledge of AMR depending on job roles, with pharmacists scoring higher and dispensing staff lower [ 27 ].…”

“…Our findings echo the previous evaluation of PAMSI in 2020 which found that pharmacy staff lacked time, resources and staffing to address AMS, and physical resources such as the TARGET Antibiotic Checklist were not feasible for patients who have their prescription delivered or picked up by representatives [ 10 ]. Issues of pharmacy staffing, time and resources have been highlighted in other literature [ 26 , 28 , 34 ]. The feedback survey suggests that most pharmacy teams were reading out the questions to patients rather than having them fill these in directly, as it was designed, which may take more time.…”

Comparison of Perceived Importance and Performance of Community Pharmacists’ Role in South Korea During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

“…35 Furthermore, pharmaceutical associations should construct a system to actively and knowingly prepare, respond, and recover from disasters and emergencies, allowing more CPs to participate. 36 Pharmaceutical associations should allow the integration of CPs into a health-care team when responding to a local disaster or pandemic. This study used the PPRR phase to assess the importance and performance of CPs' roles in disaster management.…”

The Essential Role of Pharmacists during the COVID-19 Pandemic: a review article

“…Community pharmacists significantly enabled a collective response to the pandemic and greatly saved a lot of people from the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic. The professionals managed an effective control of the pandemic by assuming novel roles in public health, such as being vaccinators, testers, screeners, and educators (Durand et al, 2022). Pharmacists in the communities also contributed to the control of the pandemic by ensuring the continuity of pharmaceutical services amidst the health risks presented by Covid-19.…”