The Relationship between Customers and Community Pharmacies during the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) Pandemic: A Survey from Italy

Community pharmacists as vaccinators in the SARS-CoV-2 immunization campaign: implications beyond the pandemic

Italy was one of the last European countries to introduce vaccination in pharmacies. The urgent need to extend the vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2 led to the approval of Law no. 178/2020. The Law allowed the administration of COVID-19 vaccines in Italian pharmacies by community pharmacists on an experimental basis for the years 2021-2022. Stakeholders took contrasting positions on the idea of enabling pharmacist to vaccinate after proper training. Sometimes, controversy existed even within the same associations representing pharmacists. As observed in other countries, the medical profession in Italy also expressed its opposition to the idea of pharmacists as vaccinators, while the general public and pharmacy customers were generally in favour of the policy. Over two million doses of SARS-CoV-vaccines were administered in Italian pharmacies in less than one year after the introduction of the policy. Criticism and concerns raised during the debate about the introduction of vaccination in pharmacies has subsided. It is yet unclear whether vaccination in pharmacies will be prolonged after the pandemic and whether it will, in fact, be expanded to other vaccines. Potentially, this could contribute towards increasing immunisation rates, not only for COVID-19, but also for other vaccines.

Patient Care in Community Pharmacies during the COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) Pandemic: Effectiveness of Post-Graduate Education and Further Training Courses on Revenues

Thanks to their distribution throughout the territory and extended opening hours, community pharmacists are among the healthcare specialists most easily accessible to the public and often represent the first point of consultation both for the treatment of acute health conditions and, more generally, for health and therapy advice. The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether post-graduate courses/further training courses for pharmacists might influence the quality of patient management and care and, consequently, the satisfaction of the users who entered the pharmacy. We used the revenues of the pharmacies (Group A) in which these pharmacists are employed as a performance indicator. We compared the data for this group with the national averages for Italian pharmacies (Group B) and with those of a group (Group C) of selected pharmacies as similar as possible to the pharmacies in Group A based on a number of well-defined parameters. The comparison of revenues, year-on-year changes, and the average number of sales by the pharmacies in the three groups indicates that the pharmacies in Group A had the best performance, not only when compared with the national average but especially compared with the control group, specifically selected to make the comparison as significant as possible.

Adaptations in the role of pharmacists under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Community pharmacists actively engage in managing the health of local residents, but the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated rapid adaptations in practice activities.

OBJECTIVES

We sought to identify the specific adaptations in practice and the expanded roles of community pharmacists in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

We conducted a systematic review of published studies reporting the tasks of pharmacists in community pharmacies or who were involved in pharmacy practices addressing the pandemic. Two investigators independently searched PubMed (December 2019-January 2022) for eligible articles. We conducted a meta-analysis to measure the frequencies of practical activities by pharmacists in response to COVID-19.

RESULTS

We identified 30 eligible studies. Meta-analysis of these studies found that the most commonly reported adaptation in pharmacist practice activities was modifying hygiene behaviors, including regular cleaning and disinfection (81.89%), followed by maintaining social distance from staff and clients (76.37%). Educating clients on COVID-19 was reported by 22 studies (72.54%). Telemedicine and home delivery services were provided to clients by 49.03 and 41.98% of pharmacists, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The roles of community pharmacists in public health activities have adapted and expanded in response to COVID-19, notably by incorporating public health education activities.

An investigation into the information-seeking behaviour of professionals, working within the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector in Ireland

Purpose

This research aimed to investigate the information-seeking behaviour (ISB) and information needs of different professional groups within the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector in the Republic of Ireland (i.e. for what purpose information is acquired), the information sources professional groups use (including in-house documentation, regulations, industry guidelines, standards and colleagues) and the factors, which influence professional groups' choice of information sources. Furthermore, the research explored the perceived level of support that exists towards knowledge and information sharing.

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative non-experimental research design, comprising of a self-completion survey questionnaire, was used to examine a number of information-seeking variables: information triggers, information sources and source influencers as well as information sharing enablers. It was related to four professional tasks: process technology/process development, regulatory support and quality/compliance support and engineering.

Findings

The research provides new insights into the ISB of pharmaceutical professionals working within a highly regulated and high-performance production environment, including a greater understanding of the context in which professional groups experience information needs. The levels of agreement observed in relation to employees' perception of information-sharing enablers indicated an overall positive level of information sharing.

Research limitations/implications

The study points to largely echoed previous findings which suggest that individual work role associated tasks prompt particular information needs. Further to this, work role associated tasks have a bearing on information source selection. Pharmaceutical professionals engaged in positive levels of information and knowledge sharing, relying on procedures, other colleagues and internal documentation as information sources. The participants also indicated a high level of agreement in respect to the value of available subject matter experts as information-sharing enablers.

Practical implications

Organisations should aim to create opportunities for adequate time to share information and organisational structures, facilitating an overall organisational culture of sharing. A focus on information sharing through forums, seminars, meetings and working groups could enhance information sharing, through the development of communities of practice.

Social implications

Pharmaceutical professionals relied on trustworthiness and quality as professional' top information source-influencing factors. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that working within a high-performance, target-driven and time-constrained production environment brings a particular contextual impact, where frequent urgent information triggers are experienced. These contextual factors warrant further investigation.

Originality/value

A paucity of information exists with respect to the ISB of professionals, working within the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, which is a sector known for its high level of information use and production. This paper offered an original empirical investigation of the ISB of professionals, working within the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector in the Republic of Ireland, focussing on key professional tasks. The research also addressed the level of support available for knowledge and information sharing.