Dr., Pharmaceutical Management and Economics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Egyptian Russian University, Cairo, Egypt; Dr., Pharmaceutical Management and Economics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
Dr., Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
Res Social Adm Pharm. 2021 Jan;17(1):1888-1896. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2020.05.009. Epub 2020 May 11.
Community pharmacies provide an important healthcare service, which is broadly established, and constitutes the preferred and initial contact for members of the community. The significant value of community pharmacies was further highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
The assessment of community pharmacies preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic.
A cross-sectional interview survey of 1018 community pharmacies working in four regions of Egypt (South, East, Centre, and North). Data collection was conducted from 8-19 April 2020.
Availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) and medication was better than alcohol (70% conc.). Home delivery services were available in 49.1% of pharmacies. Infection control measures covering interactions between staff were in place in up to 99.5% of pharmacies. Conversely, there was less frequent availability of contactless payment (29.1%), hand sanitizers (62.1%) or masks (86.5%) for customer use, or a separate area for patients with suspected COVID-19 (64%). Verbal customer education (90.4%) was used preferably to written (81.3%). Despite high clinical knowledge and awareness (97.6%-99.2%), only 8.8% of pharmacists had reported suspected COVID-19 cases, however this varied significantly with pharmacist demographics (geographic region P < 0.001; pandemic training p < 0.001; position p = 0.019; age p = 0.046).
Government and policymakers strive to mitigate the shortage of PPE and medication. More attention should be given to infection control measures around interactions between staff and customers to ensure community pharmacists are fit and able to provide continuity in their important role. Educating customers using regularly-updated posters, banners or signs will contribute to decreasing contact with patients, and reducing the number and duration of visits to the pharmacy. Pandemic preparedness of community pharmacists must also extend to reporting procedures. By avoiding under-reporting or over-reporting, community pharmacists will contribute to accurate monitoring of the national spread of infection.
社区药房提供了一项重要的医疗服务，该服务广泛建立，并构成了社区成员首选和最初的联系方式。在 COVID-19 大流行危机期间，社区药房的重要价值进一步凸显。
评估社区药房应对 COVID-19 大流行的准备情况。
对埃及四个地区（南部、东部、中部和北部）的 1018 家社区药房进行了横断面访谈调查。数据收集于 2020 年 4 月 8 日至 19 日进行。
个人防护设备 (PPE) 和药物的供应情况好于酒精 (70%浓度)。有 49.1%的药房提供上门送货服务。覆盖员工之间互动的感染控制措施在多达 99.5%的药房得到实施。相反，较少的药房提供非接触式支付 (29.1%)、洗手液 (62.1%) 或口罩 (86.5%) 供顾客使用，或为疑似 COVID-19 患者设立单独区域 (64%)。口头客户教育 (90.4%) 优先于书面教育 (81.3%)。尽管临床知识和意识水平很高 (97.6%-99.2%)，但只有 8.8%的药剂师报告了疑似 COVID-19 病例，但这与药剂师的人口统计学特征差异显著 (地理位置 P < 0.001；大流行培训 P < 0.001；职位 P = 0.019；年龄 P = 0.046)。
政府和政策制定者努力缓解个人防护设备和药物的短缺。应更加关注员工与顾客之间互动的感染控制措施，以确保社区药剂师身体健康，有能力继续发挥其重要作用。通过定期更新海报、横幅或标志向顾客进行教育，将有助于减少与患者的接触，并减少去药房的次数和时间。社区药剂师的大流行准备工作还必须延伸到报告程序。通过避免漏报或错报，社区药剂师将有助于准确监测全国感染的传播情况。
