Expanded roles of community pharmacists in COVID-19: A scoping literature review

Abstract

Background COVID-19 has affected the world healthcare system adversely, but has also brought out innovative roles for healthcare professionals to cater to growing healthcare needs. Community pharmacists provide community pharmacy services and can play a vital role in fighting the pandemic by taking on novel roles that complement their pre-existing roles. Objectives To provide a scoping review of current and emerging literature about the novel roles adopted by community pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Online databases such as Google Scholar and PubMed were searched systematically using the keywords “COVID-19”, AND “pharmacist”, AND “community”. Articles were selected based on availability of full text in English language, with time limit from 1 st December 2019 to 31 st October 2021; case reports, cross-sectional studies, literature reviews, qualitative studies and systematic reviews were included while commentary reviews and editorials were excluded from the search methodology. An independent review of the articles was carried out for inclusion based on relatability to study subject; those chosen were screened for references to find additional gray literature. Findings were arranged in themes and the results were organized accordingly. Results Novel roles for community pharmacists were found in relation to maintenance of drug supply chains; delivery of tele-pharmacy and telehealth services; provision of ambulatory pharmacy services; use of digital software to coordinate medication delivery for patients with chronic conditions; dispelling of misinformation; and roles in research and clinical trials. Roles in a post-COVID world regarding immunization of population, and involvement in lifting lockdown strictures alongside other stakeholders were also explored. Conclusion Although COVID-19 has challenged the healthcare system, it has also provided an opportunity for development of novel and innovative roles that can ultimately have profound consequences for the healthcare system. Community pharmacists, despite facing multiple challenges in the community, should be facilitated to adapt with these new roles, which can be beneficial in achieving mass immunization and better healthcare in a post-COVID world.

Distress symptoms during the COVID-19 lockdown: A study with the general population of the United Arab Emirates

“…Many studies around the world were consistent with the above-mentioned findings regarding the important role of the community pharmacists during the pandemic and the lockdown. 30 Based on such previously mentioned observations, the role of pharmacists here in the UAE can also extend in consistence with the rest of the world to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and minimize the bad consequences on the society. These evolving roles of the pharmacist can also be useful post COVID-19 as to confront any future infections or pandemics.…”

“…Many studies around the world were consistent with the above-mentioned findings regarding the important role of the community pharmacists during the pandemic and the lockdown. 30 …”

Role of Pharmacists in Antimicrobial Stewardship During COVID-19 Outbreak: A Scoping Review

“…The job of pharmacists has changed from simply restocking prescriptions to acting as a therapeutic substitute for doctors, which has contributed to maintaining continuity of care during the epidemic. 41 …”

“…The job of pharmacists has changed from simply restocking prescriptions to acting as a therapeutic substitute for doctors, which has contributed to maintaining continuity of care during the epidemic. 41 Parente & Morton (2018) 42 and Garau & Bassetti (2018) 43 outlined specific recommendations for practice, education, and studies related to pharmacists' roles in AMS. The AMS implementation can be strengthened through multidisciplinary team (MDT) collaboration, including pharmacists.…”

A typology of vaccine hesitancies: Results from a study of community pharmacists administering COVID-19 vaccinations during the pandemic

“…While distribution, procurement, safe storage and security, and documentation of vaccine supply was more complex, the actual administration of the vaccine itself into individual patient's arms was not particularly daunting or challenging for pharmacists with experience administering other kinds of vaccines. 12 Anecdotally, pharmacists and health care professionals noted that the most challenging aspects of the COVID-19 mass vaccination effort had less to do with medications and more to do with public mis-understanding of science and skepticism of expert guidance. 13 , 14 …”