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- Title
Role of Pharmacy Professionals in Covid-19 Crisis.
- Authors
Bodhankar, Shishupal
- Abstract
As the lockdowns are being observed all over the globe and the national level pharmacy professionals are performing front line roles, this editorial highlights the role of pharmacists in the COVID − 19 pandemic. Pharmacists globally are providing services amidst pandemic, including TRIAGE services, seeing patients and reducing the patients’ burden on health care facilities such as hospitals and GP practices. Pharmacists are also working to providing home deliveries, as well as dealing with the increasing number of patients coming through to pharmacies with the other ailments. Pharmacists also have a crucial system-level role in planning and leading medication safety programs and improvement initiatives within health care organizations. These initiatives may include developing risk-specific protocols for high-alert medications; identifying and evaluating high-risk processes (e.g., total parenteral nutrition, compounding, pediatric dose preparation) that require special attention, protocols, and training; evaluating medication error data; evaluating and implementing new medication technologies; and fostering robust error reporting processes. Clinical trials are another area in which pharmacist leadership in designing safe protocols is critical; as there are fewer standardized safeguards in place to ensure correct medications and doses are delivered to patients. Pharmacists have a central role in ensuring medication safety across the continuum of care. The complexity of the medication prescribing and delivery processes can make it difficult to prove the beneficial effect of pharmacists on adverse outcomes directly, but pharmacist involvement has been shown to reduce errors, improve prescribing practices, and enhance patient monitoring across settings. For example, a cluster-randomized trial of pharmacist involvement in medication management planning on hospital admission showed a dramatic reduction in medication errors within the first 24 hours of hospitalization.
- Subjects
COVID-19 pandemic; DRUGSTORES; SPECIALTY pharmacies; HEALTH facilities; OCCUPATIONAL roles; MEDICATION errors; MEDICATION therapy management
- Publication
International Journal of Pharmacy & Life Sciences, 2020, Vol 11, Issue 7, p54
- ISSN
0976-7126
- Publication type
Article