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. 2021 Jan;17(1):2002-2004.
doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2020.07.001. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the provision of pharmaceutical care in community pharmacies

Ellen S Koster  1 , Daphne Philbert  2 , Marcel L Bouvy  2
Affiliations

Impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the provision of pharmaceutical care in community pharmacies

Ellen S Koster et al. Res Social Adm Pharm. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Background: Community pharmacists and their teams are easy accessible healthcare providers with an important role in primary care. As a consequence of the COVID-19 epidemic, (pharmaceutical) care and specifically communication between patients and healthcare providers is compromised.

Objective: To describe the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the provision of pharmaceutical care in the Netherlands.

Methods: A cross-sectional study with an online questionnaire was sent to community pharmacies in the Netherlands. The questionnaire covered the following main topics: changes in pharmacy setting and logistic procedures, communication about medication and baseline characteristics.

Results: Pharmacies implemented hygiene measures and minimized direct patient-provider contact, e.g. by delivering medication at home to a wider range of patients (47.0%), temporarily not conducting medication reviews (55.8%) and only performing inhalation instructions via telephone (22.3%). Only a small number of pharmacies used telepharmacy, such as video calling during patient education and counseling. A total of 76.7% of the participants expressed concerns towards the pharmaceutical care for vulnerable patients.

Conclusions: Our results show considerable impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on both logistic procedures and services regarding patient education and counseling. Pharmacies should be stimulated to implement telepharmacy or remote service to optimally support patients during the COVID-19 epidemic.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Changes in logistic procedures during COVID-19 epidemic.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

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