What Is the Role of Pharmacists in Treating COVID-19 Patients? The Experiences and Expectations of Front Line Medical Staff

Abstract

Aims: The study aimed to understand the role and the core values of pharmacists and the professional expectations of medical staff for pharmacists in treating COVID-19 patients from the perspectives of the frontline medical staff. The findings help to understand and provide a reference for the career growth path of future pharmacists.Methods: A phenomenological method was used to conduct in-depth interviews with frontline medical staff working in isolation wards during COVID-19. The interview data were analyzed, and the themes were extracted.Results: Pharmacists played a positive role in ensuring the supply of non-routinely stocked drugs, including traditional Chinese medicine preventative preparations, providing drug information and medication consultation for complex patients, and identifying adverse drug reactions. However, at present, the integration of pharmacists and nurses is poor with inadequate communication, and the pharmaceutical care activities provided to physicians were still not comprehensive.Conclusions: The level of pharmaceutical care provided by pharmacists needs to be further strengthened. Frontline medical teams generally have high professional expectations for pharmacists, including expecting pharmacists to become drug therapy experts. They expect pharmacists to fully participate in clinical decision-making, especially playing a central role in managing drug interactions, contraindications, and other clinical uses of drugs.

Pharmacist-Urologist Collaborative Management Improves Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Receiving Enzalutamide

“…The value of pharmacist-led team care in pharmacotherapies has been demonstrated in numerous studies ( Yamamoto et al, 2018 ; Escudero-Vilaplana et al, 2020 ; Satsuma et al, 2020 ; Ji et al, 2021 ; Jia et al, 2021 ; Marzal-Alfaro et al, 2021 ; Miura et al, 2021 ; Xu et al, 2021 ). The results of this study revealed that pharmacist-urologist collaborative management can also improve care for patients with CRPC receiving enzalutamide in an ambulatory care setting.…”

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

“…Pharmacists also helped by taking part in inpatient rounds. Pharmacists within the medical setup assumed an essential role in identifying drug interactions and reactions, providing consultation and drug information, as well as ensuring the supply of drugs that are not stocked routinely (Jia et al, 2021). Their roles were vital in ensuring that patients access adequate medication to fight against the negative health effects of the coronavirus.…”

Pharmacist-driven antimicrobial stewardship interventions in patients with COVID-19: a scoping review

“…For instance, a meta-analysis reported an increased prevalence of Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (MDROs) in COVID-19 wards [ 12 ], as well as an increased prevalence of QTc prolongation in COVID-19 patients secondary to unjustified use of hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine therapy or in cases of drug-drug interactions [ 13 , 14 ]. For the past 2 years, much literature has documented the general roles pharmacists are playing in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic [ 15 , 16 ]. Nevertheless, AMS- related interventions by pharmacists and observed outcomes have not been the focus of those articles.…”