The Particularities of Pharmaceutical Care in Improving Public Health Service during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Nowadays, humanity is confronted with one of the most difficult challenges. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was identified for the first time in Hubei, China in December 2019 and produced the COVID-19 pandemic, a devastating disease that led to many complications and deaths. The authorities and the global healthcare system have been alerted regarding the prevention and treatment of this pathology. Even though worldwide quarantine was declared, health care professionals, including pharmacists, have been at the frontline in this war. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the authorities relied on the involvement of the community, hospital, or clinical pharmacists in offering support to the entire population. Also, the authorities implemented measures for emergency authorization of the vaccines, or the drugs used in COVID-19 treatment. In order to facilitate the population’s access to healthcare services, the authorities have established regulations regarding, the extension of prescriptions by pharmacists, working hours, prevention of shortages and price-increase, drive-thru services, etc. However, several countries have taken financial measures to support the pharmacies’ activity. At the same time, pharmaceutical associations elaborated guidelines for the protection of pharmacists and patients alike. Additionally, the pharmacies have come to support the health system and patients by adapting pharmaceutical care to the new needs like preparation and supply of disinfectants, patient care, information, and counseling, especially to COVID-19 patients, as well as the implementation of home drugs-delivery systems. The important roles played by pharmacists were to perform COVID-19 tests and further vaccines, as well as to combat the abundance of misinformation and fake news. The clinical and hospital pharmacy services have also been adapted. Strengthening the role of the pharmacist in the medical team was important for the purpose of providing correct and complete information regarding drugs used in the COVID-19 pathology. In all these activities, pharmacists needed creativity and professionalism, but also the support of pharmacy owners and managers. With this crisis, pharmaceutical care has entered a new phase, demonstrating the ability of pharmacists to be competent and accessible providers of public health. Based on this information, we conducted a narrative review whose purpose was to identify the impact of the authorities’ decisions on pharmaceutical practice, the involvement of professional associations, and the responsibilities of the pharmacy owners and management. On the other hand, we performed a global assessment on the pharmaceutical care services provided by community pharmacists as well as by clinical or hospital pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public perceptions about home delivery of medications service in Lebanon: A cross-sectional survey

“…In recent years, pharmacists' role has substantially increased as first-line health care providers and specialized pharmaceutical care providers [1]. Community pharmacists provide health and medical provision by dispensing prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines.…”

What has changed in the pharmaceutical care after COVID-19: Pharmacists’ perspective

“… 5 Thus, incomputable duties and new responsibilities have been put on many sectors of life, particularly, the healthcare system. 6 …”

“…particularly, the healthcare system. 6 New challenges were faced by the healthcare providers in every aspect of their professions. Yet, pharmacists played a pivotal role in maintaining the integrity and balance within the health care system by shouldering new responsibilities and adapting their practices to accommodate the increased demand in the medical services during the pandemic.…”

Use of failure mode and effect analysis to reduce patient safety risks in purchasing prescription drugs from online pharmacies in China

“…The COVID-19 outbreak, not only fostered patients' habit of buying drugs online, but also promoted online medical treatment ( 3 ).Thus far, China has built more than 1,100 Internet hospitals supported by public hospitals ( 4 ). Patients can obtain prescriptions through online consultations and transfer these prescriptions to online pharmacies through an internal system.…”