The pharmacist informatician: providing an innovative model of care during the COVID-19 crisis

Systematic literature review of adopting eHealth in pharmaceutical care during COVID-19 pandemic: recommendations for strengthening pharmacy services

OBJECTIVES

The study aimed to determine how eHealth was adopted in pharmaceutical care (PC), the outcome reported and the contextual factors.

DESIGN

Systematic literature review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.

DATA SOURCES

Literature was searched in six databases including PubMed, Scopus, Medline, Web of Science, Science Direct and China National Knowledge Infrastructure.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Studies which reported the usage experiences of eHealth in any aspects of PC by pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic, written in English or Chinese, and published in peer-reviewed journals between December 2019 and March 2022 were included. Opinion articles, conference abstracts, correspondence, letters and editorials were excluded.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

The literature search was completed on 15 April 2022. Two researchers independently conducted the literature search and extracted the data into an Excel table informed by the logic model with the key components of goals, input, activities, output and contextual factors.

RESULTS

Forty-three studies were included in this review. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospital pharmacists, community pharmacists and specialist pharmacists in 17 countries continued to educate, consult, monitor and manage the patients and the general public via phone calls, videoconferences, mobile applications, social media, websites and/or enhanced interoperability of electronic medical records. Assuring the continuity of pharmacy care, reduced need for hospital visits, and improved work accuracy and efficiency were the benefits of eHealth mostly reported. Contextual factors affecting the adoption of eHealth were multifaceted, prompting supporting actions at the levels of government, hospital/pharmacy, pharmacists and patients.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed the wide adoption of eHealth in PC during the pandemic and the emerging evidence for its importance. Proper adoption of eHealth will help reshape the mode of pharmacy services to ensure continuity, quality and efficiency of care amid the challenges of the pandemic.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42022299812.

Evaluating Pharmacists’ Pharmacological Knowledge and Views Regarding Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine in Saudi Arabia

Background

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been widely used and approved for the prevention of 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) for individuals aged 16 years and older in Saudi Arabia. The emergency use authorization of this vaccine is crucial to managing the pandemic in the Kingdom. This vaccination strategy requires proper usage, knowledge, and management by pharmacists and other health professionals.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted using several previously validated questionnaires. Pharmacists working in different health sectors in Saudi Arabia in March–July 2021 participated via an online questionnaire. Comparative and descriptive analyses were used to analyze the data, and a P-value < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results

A total of 145 pharmacists with a mean age of 35.2 years (SD ± 5.59) were included. The study sample showed adequate general knowledge of COVID-19 and its causative virus signs. Overall, the results showed good knowledge of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and its pharmacological application among pharmacists in Saudi Arabia with significant chi square values (p< 0.0001).

Conclusion

Pharmacists have good knowledge and understanding of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine; interestingly, the majority expressed a high level of awareness and agreed that Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is a valuable vaccine for COVID-19 management.