Ready, Willing, and Able: 3 Ways Community Pharmacies Can Help Fight COVID-19

By Rebecca Chater, RPh, MPH, FAPhA, director of clinical healthcare strategy, Omnicell

What can community pharmacies do to help fight COVID-19 beyond continuing to dispense medications and provide other customary services? Pharmacies are vital to prevention, helping reduce the risk of exposure in their communities, and keeping their patients healthy. In this article, we’ll address three primary ways pharmacies can help flatten the COVID-19 curve. Additionally, we’ll discuss opportunities for them to evolve and become an even more valuable community resource as the pandemic peaks.

1. Show the public what prevention looks like in practice

With more than 90% of Americans residing within five miles of a community pharmacy, it’s not surprising that pharmacists are consistently cited in Gallup polls as one of the most highly trusted professionals. With new COVID-19 information surfacing by the day, leaving consumers struggling to sort fact from fiction, pharmacists stand as trusted advisors to the public. They act as amplifiers and translators, synthesizing, and sharing current, accurate information from the CDC and others. From including personal safety tips in regular conversations, to providing education or monitoring via interactive messaging, to modeling safe behaviors, such as placing physical markers in check-out lines to ensure proper social distancing, pharmacists have countless opportunities to show the public what prevention looks like in practice.

2. Adapt business models to keep patients safe

 Beyond serving as educators, there are a range of practical measures that pharmacists should take to keep their patients safe. They should reinforce the importance of keeping vaccinations, such as flu and pneumonia, up to date and making their administration as convenient as possible. For pharmacies offering appointment-based medication synchronization, anticipating vaccination and other patient care needs in advance of a planned pick-up date can streamline this process. Similar to the way many grocery stores have created “elder hours,” community pharmacies may consider reserving special times for seniors or especially vulnerable patients to pick up their medications.

Additionally, while adherence is a focus every day, it’s especially important in the current climate to encourage patients to refill maintenance medications and stock up on common over the counter (OTC) medications to minimize future trips—a perfect opportunity to offer sync enrollment to patients who have not already taken advantage of the service.

While these changes to in-store activity are important, so are efforts to keep patients at home. Pharmacies able to extend delivery services will have a decided advantage in that people won’t have to risk exposure to obtain their medications.

3. Prepare for what’s coming

As we approach the projected peak of viral activity for many states across the nation, there are a number of steps pharmacies can take to help their communities through the crisis. Continued monitoring of the supply chain should be a primary focus. Since many medications dispensed in the U.S. are manufactured in China, where production is at risk of being withheld from other markets, collaboration to explore options and identify alternatives is essential.

Some pharmacies are already involved in drive-through virology testing for COVID-19. Once point-of-care serology testing and vaccines are available, community pharmacies will be instrumental in administering them, as well.

Ready to serve

Amid the COVID-19 crisis, steps are being taken to relieve the burden of regulatory constraints on our health care system. The recent authorization of pharmacists to administer COVID-19 testing is a vital step in advancing public health and a tremendous opportunity for pharmacy.  By being well prepared and ready to serve in this capacity, pharmacists will play an indispensable role in both the fight against COVID-19 and the greater public health.