pISSN 1226-6051
eISSN 2508-786X
eISSN 2508-786X
Community pharmacy services and outcomes of the included studies (n=23)
| Study | Country | Participants | Services of interest | Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baratta, 2021 | Italy | 502 customers | - general pharmacy services - home delivery |
- satisfaction for general role of CPs 70% rated extremely useful 58% to obtain Covid-19 information; 98% received proper information 19% complained about delays in supplying products 18% complained the poor coordination between doctor-pharmacist 17% complained prices - satisfaction for home delivery 61~70% rated extremely useful by period - future role of community pharmacists increase number of services available in the pharmacy (25%) improve co-operation with the doctor (23%) develop online consultancy develop home delivery service improve customer-care skills among pharmacists |
| Bourdin, 2022 | Switzerland | 1 pharmacy 9,785 patients |
- general pharmacy services - patient home delivery - inter-professional medication adherence program (IMAP) |
- quantitative changes in activity decrease in patient pharmacy visits (-40~-48%) increase in external phone calls (1.4 times; 2.4 times in IMAP) increase in patient home deliveries (642~2,975%) decrease in total time of patient-pharmacist interviews (-40~-95%) in IMAP |
| Cerbin-Koczorowska, 2020 | Poland | 54 CPs 15 pharmacy technicians |
- preparedness of Polish pharmacy employees for patient education on the Covid-19 threat | - average time of a single consultation CPs=2:22; technicians=1:54 - quality of information provided by pharmacy staff information pharmacists provided was more comprehensive in prevention (p=0.006) and drug usage (p=0.033) |
| Daskalakis, 2021 | Canada | 229 CPs 2 pharmacy technicians |
- naloxone dispensing | - changes in naloxone dispensing practices 51.1% no change; 22.9% increase; 24.7% decrease - adjustments to naloxone dispensing training patients how to administer naloxone over video or phone (24%) offering to deliver naloxone kits (18%) having the pharmacy technician offer naloxone at prescription intake (13%) - barriers to naloxone provision no asking for naloxone (55%) less face-to-face interaction (54%) reduced traffic (49%) lack of time (11%) pharmacy not offering delivery (4%) difficulty stocking naloxone (4%) - facilitators to naloxone provision feeling no helps in dispensing naloxone (43%) visiting pharmacy more due to medical office closure (27%) lack of access to community social supports (23%) concerns about home alone (19%) closure of supervised consumption sites (11%) |
| Giua, 2021 | Italy | 169 CPs | - general services during the first pandemic peak | - changes in pharmacy service needs booking prescriptions delivery of medications implementation of phone consultations increase in information requests from patients |
| Gregory, 2020 | Canada | 11 pharmacies 39 pharmacy staff |
- general services during the first wave of the pandemic | - changes in pharmacy services increase in volumes of patients seeking renewals of prescriptions, health advice/counselling and non-prescription medications decrease in provision of non-dispensing remunerated services e.g., vaccination and Meds-Check increase in unremunerated clinical interventions e.g., prescription modifications, waived fees for prescription renewals decrease in patient-facing activities for education/counselling increase in non-clinical services e.g., explanation of drug shortage issues or changes in relevant policies - key strategies coping with the pandemic shorten shift length of pharmacy staff scheduling practices that focused on teams of pharmacy staff reduction of multitasking enhanced use of technology for diverse communications, monitoring and documentation the need for more non-professional support staff |
| Imlach, 2021 | New Zealand | 1,010 patients (survey) 38 patients (in-depth interview) |
- home delivery of e-prescribing medicines | - awareness of services fax transmission of prescription=752/866 (87%) online transmission of prescription=588/866 (68%) having an experience to get prescription(s) by phone or online=277/636 (43%) having an experience home delivery of prescribed medicines=26/633 (4%) - what patients want in the future fax transmission of prescription=915/1,010 (91%) online transmission of prescription=903/1,010 (89%) - qualitative findings e-prescribing and online prescription requests were convenient for patients when systems worked well, but timely access to prescriptions was made more difficult when systems failed |
| Klepser, 2021 | USA | all community pharmacies as CLIA-waived facilities | - provision of CLIA-waived diagnostic tests | - changes in the number of community pharmacies with CLIA-Waivers 10,626 (17.9%) in 2015; 12,157 (21.4%) in 2019; 15,671 (27.6%) in 2020 - percentage changes in community pharmacies with CLIA-Waivers 2019-2020 29% |
| Koster, 2021 | Netherlands | 208 CPs 6 technicians 1 manager |
- general pharmaceutical care | - changes in logistic procedures follow a more strict hygiene protocol limiting direct patient contact e.g., digital prescriptions, medication home delivery - changes in patient education and counseling decrease in pharmacy encounters increase in the provision of written information or referral to online information increase in phone consultants for medication review decrease in questions from patients about medication use and the Covid-19 77% of participants expressed concerns about the quality of pharmaceutical care for vulnerable patients e.g., elderly, those with limited health literacy - changes in communication with prescribers decrease in questions from other healthcare providers |
| Lim, 2021 | UK | 7 CPs 7 other pharmacy staff |
- medication management for people with dementia | - changes in medication services provided for people with dementia key interactions curtailed due to Covid-19 restrictions: MUR, New Medicine Services paused utilizing resources within and outside of the pharmacy to provide tailored services for people with dementia: (IN) importance of teamwork, made difficult trade-offs e.g., whether or not to provide compliance aids, (OUT) home medication delivery services paid by NHS interplay between professional duty and personal values |
| Lubi, 2021 | Estonia | 21 CPs 3 hospital pharmacists 10 experts |
- general pharmacy services | - changes in pharmacy services an increased need for more general counselling counselling time was shortened or longer - pharmacists’ perception of general role of pharmacies and pharmacists a frontline healthcare activity while the rest of the healthcare system was not fully operating |
| Mamiya, 2021 | Japan | 327 pharmacists (208 CPs, 119 hospital pharmacists) |
- general pharmacy services | - change of pharmacists’ role in the community an increased awareness of infection prevention (94%) an increased recognition of pharmacists’ role in infection prevention education for citizens or patients (from 48~52% to 94~97%) having felt the role of pharmacists in the community after the Covid-19 (52~55%) an increased inquiries from patients or citizens regarding infection prevention (81~94%) |
| Manouchehri, 2021 | Spain | 98 pharmacy staff | - general pharmacy services | - changes in pharmacy practice increased workload 80% extra pressure on pharmacies due to the inaccessibility of medical centers for patients 67% home care 10% home delivery 5% increase phone consultation 4% more involvement in pharmaceutical care and diagnosis and treatment of minor symptoms 4% calling the patient who lived alone daily 2% - pharmacist perception from profession felt proud to be a member of the pharmacy profession 58% felt strong and motivated to provide pharmaceutical care to the patients 31% - pharmacist perception about emerging problems (pharmacy service relevant only) pandemic has compromised patient’s care for chronic conditions 81% problems in accessing correct information regarding the pandemic 10% - pharmacist perception about patient’s attitude and behavior increase in patient’s satisfaction with pharmacy services 59% increase in demands prescription-only-medicine without valid prescription 44% |
| Molas, 2022 | Spain | 533 HIV patients | - ART dispensing model * ART=Antiretroviral Therapy |
- patient satisfaction very satisfied 72%, satisfied 26% - dispensing preference community pharmacy 76%, hospital pharmacy 9%, indifference 15% - choice of community pharmacy close to home 85% - patient perception of ART dispensing via community pharmacies [advantage] proximity to home 76%, lower risk of contagion of Covid-19 60%, shorter waiting time 37%, time flexibility 20%, reduction of expenses 7% [disadvantage] lack of privacy 12%, lack of coordination in the organization 11% |
| Okuyan, 2021 | Turkey | 1,098 pharmacists | - general pharmacy services | - changes in pharmacy service during Covid-19 increase in patient counselling for products related to enhanced immunity (91%), dermatological problems (50%), immunization (43%) increase in counselling to patients with chronic disease (72%) increase in questions related to Covid-19 (86%), preventive health services (90%) referral patients to the hospital if they were suspected to have Covid-19 (55%) - CPs’ perceived enablers of and barriers to delivering pharmaceutical services [enablers] CPs’ knowledge, skills, self-confidence, and actions/impacts following the delivery of pharmaceutical services [barriers] innovative characteristics of pharmaceutical services, environmental resources and support e.g., insufficient support from the government and local authorities or the Turkish Pharmacists Association, etc. |
| Patel, 2022 | USA | 622 patients | - Covid-19 testing and counseling | - patient perception felt comfortable 99% improved access to healthcare services 98% benefit to the community 98% test results reported in a timely manner 97% felt more knowledgeable 88~90% - patient satisfaction overall satisfaction 99% be willing to receive a pharmacist-provided test again 98% |
| Peláez Bejarano, 2021 | Spain | 125 patients | - delivery service to the community pharmacy of their choice | - patient satisfaction mean global satisfaction 9.83±0.57 (out of 10) feel safer 99% utilize the service again 100% like the delivery service to continue 97% |
| Stämpfli, 2021 | Switzerland | 372 patients | - Covid-19 vaccination | - patient perception chose community pharmacy despite having other options 57% due to trust 96%; ease of access 86%; opening hours 67%; positive previous experiences with vaccinations in pharmacies 57% - patient satisfaction would have recommended to others 99% satisfied general comfort 99.5%; pre-vaccination discussion 99%; pharmacists’ information level on Covid-19 vaccines 99%; injection technique 99%; premises used 98% unsatisfied 0.8% due to the appointment procedure 9% |
| Stoa, 2021 | USA | 45 CPs from 12 organizations | - medication management | - changes in comprehensive medication management (CMM) increased time between CMM follow-up visits increased virtual or remote delivery of CMM delaying CMM visits increased home blood pressure monitoring |
| Toth, 2021 | USA | 246 caregivers | - Pharmacist intervention in children's antibiotic prescriptions | - caregivers’ acceptability after the Covid-19 increase β=0.111 (95% confidence interval: 0.012-0.211, p=0.029) |
| Zaidi, 2021 | UK | 206 pharmacists | - general pharmacy services | - pharmacist perception & changes in practice an increase in customer traffic to their pharmacy 81% an increase in being asking relevant questions with flu-like symptoms before signposting them to the appropriate care 75% willing to offer their assistance for mass testing of Covid-19 53% |
| Zimmermann, 2021 | Poland | 842 community pharmacies | - pharmacist prescribing practices (Apr/1/2020 legally allowed) | - number of pharmaceutical prescriptions 18,529 (Apr-6.2%, May-10%, Jun-13%, Jul-16%, Aug-18%, Sep-21%, Oct-15%) mostly due to running out of a medicine and was unable to contact their physician - medicines prescribed by pharmacists cardiovascular (19%), alimentary tract diseases and metabolism disorders (13%), nervous system (11%), and dermatological (11%) medications were most frequently prescribed |
| Zozaya, 2021 | Spain | 262 community pharmacies | - continuity of care between hospital and community pharmacies | - estimate of costs avoided hospital perspective €30,205 social perspective €23,309 |
CLIA=Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments; CP=community pharmacist; SOP=standard operating procedure