The legal extension of the role of pharmacists in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic

Merks, Piotr; Jakubowska, Marta; Drelich, Ewelina; Świeczkowski, Damian; Bogusz, J; Bilmin, Krzysztof; Šola, Katarina Fehir; May, Andreas E.; Majchrowska, Anita; Koziol, Mark; Pawlikowski, Jakub; Jaguszewski, Miłosz; Vaillancourt, Régis

doi:10.1016/j.sapharm.2020.05.033

Cited by 119 publications

(132 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…However, there still exist legal barriers and regulatory obstacles to the full implementation and expansion of pharmacists’ rules, duties, and responsibilities [ 15 , 16 ]. Regarding a potential additional overview of regulatory challenges, it should be emphasized that, during the viral outbreak, pharmacists have been allowed by executive orders to expand their scope of practice (SOP).…”

Section: The Pharmacist: Past Present and Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

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Since late December 2019, a novel, emerging coronavirus was identified as the infectious agent responsible for a generally mild but sometimes severe and even life-threatening disease, termed as “coronavirus disease 2019” (COVID-19). The pathogen was initially named as “2019 novel coronavirus” (2019-nCoV) and later renamed as “Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus type 2” (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19 quickly spread from the first epicenter, the city of Wuhan, province of Hubei, mainland China, into neighboring countries, and became a global pandemic. As of July 15th 2020, the outbreak is still ongoing, with SARS-CoV-2 affecting 213 countries and territories. The coronavirus has caused a dramatic toll of deaths and imposed a severe burden, both from a societal and economic point of view. COVID-19 has challenged health systems, straining and overwhelming healthcare facilities and settings, including hospital and community pharmacies. On the other hand, COVID-19 has propelled several changes. During the last decades, pharmacy has shifted from being products-based and patient-facing to being services-based and patient-centered. Pharmacies have transitioned from being compounding centers devoted to the manipulation of materia medica to pharmaceutical centers, clinical pharmacies and fully integrated “medical-pharmaceutical networks”, providing a significant range of non-prescribing services. Moreover, roles, duties and responsibilities of pharmacists have paralleled such historical changes and have known a gradual expansion, incorporating new skills and reflecting new societal demands and challenges. The COVID-19 outbreak has unearthed new opportunities for pharmacists: community and hospital pharmacists have, indeed, played a key role during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that a fully integrated, inter-sectoral and inter-professional collaboration is necessary to face crises and public health emergencies. Preliminary, emerging evidence seems to suggest that, probably, a new era in the history of pharmacies (“the post-COVID-19 post-pharmaceutical care era”) has begun, with community pharmacists acquiring more professional standing, being authentic heroes and frontline health workers.

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Section: The Pharmacist: Past Present and Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2020

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“…3 Therefore, several nations combated the COVID-19 by implementation of restrictive measures including health quarantine, early diagnoses, and infection control measures. 4,5 In this regard, telemedicine, which is the provision of remote health care services using information technology tools such as smartphones, telephones, and mobile wireless devices, has achieved much more attention during the pandemic since it reduced the risk of COVID-19 transmission by minimizing in person contact among individuals. [6][7][8] This includes telepharmacy, which refers to providing remote pharmacist services, with a spatial distance between the pharmacist and the patients as the consumers of health services.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…12 With COVID-19 invading the world, many countries have legally expanded the role of community pharmacists to involve communicating with patients and costumers remotely using telepharmacy tools including virtual consultation, social media, and home delivery of medicines. 5,[13][14][15] The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the first countries in the Middle East to implement these services, particularly during the outbreak of COVID-19. 16 The implementation of telepharmacy assists in expanding the role of pharmacists in the emergency response to include improving the awareness of the public toward COVID-19 symptoms and refer them to the appropriate health care facility for testing and provide necessary information to reduce the spread of this virus in DOI: 10.1089/tmj.2020.0283…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Telepharmacy Services in Light of COVID-19

Ibrahim

Abdel‐Qader

et al. 2021

Telemedicine and e-Health

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Background: Telepharmacy services are expected to have an important role in increasing access of patients to pharmaceutical care and reducing potential dispensing errors in community pharmacies. Objective: To assess the predictors for effective telepharmacy services on increasing access of patients to care and reducing dispensing errors in community pharmacies. Method: This is a prospective study carried out for 4 months in 52 community pharmacies across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) using disguised direct observation. Multivariable logistic regression was used as a tool to predict factors associated with effective telepharmacy services in improving dispensing safety and increasing access of patients to pharmaceutical care. Data were entered and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software version 26. Results: Pharmacist recommendations related to COVID-19 at pharmacies with telepharmacy (n = 63,714) versus those without remote services (n = 15,539) were significantly more likely to be (1) contact the nearest testing center (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 7.93), (2) maintain home quarantine (AOR = 5.64), and (3) take paracetamol for fever (AOR = 3.53), all were significant results (p < 0.05). Rates of medication dispensing errors (MDEs) and its subcategories, prescription-related errors, and pharmacist counseling errors across pharmacies with telepharmacy versus those without remote services were (15.81% vs. 19.43%, p < 0.05), (5.38% vs. 10.08%, p < 0.05), and (10.42% vs. 9.35%, p > 0.05), respectively. However, pharmacies with telepharmacy were more likely to include wrong patient errors (AOR = 5.38, p < 0.05). Conclusions: Telepharmacy can be used as a tool to reduce the burden on the health care system and improve drug dispensing safety in community pharmacies.

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“…1 Help them understand how pharmacists can contribute to information sharing, education, identification of the vulnerable, vaccine delivery, documentation, and adverse event surveillance. 6,7 Optimize your pharmacy's ability to communicate with your state or local immunization information system.…”

Section: Referencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pharmacists continue to protect communities during COVID-19

Grabenstein¹

2020

Journal of the American Pharmacists Association

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The legal extension of the role of pharmacists in light of the COVID-19 global pandemic

Cited by 119 publications

References 5 publications

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

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

Evaluation of Telepharmacy Services in Light of COVID-19

Pharmacists continue to protect communities during COVID-19

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