2021 Volume 8 Issue 1 Pages 23-29
During the COVID-19 outbreak, an open survey was conducted via the Internet to clarify the problems faced by pharmacists engaged in home care and pharmacy practice. Anyone could respond to the survey, but the call was made mainly to those involved in the Japanese Association of Home Care Pharmacies. The survey asked participants to describe their perception of the COVID-19 outbreak, mainly related to home care and pharmacy practice. As a result, 231 participants responded, of which 222 (96.1%) were pharmacists. Among these pharmacists, 182 (78.8%) were engaged in pharmacy practice, including home care. Some commented that they did not have a standard guide to prevent infection during patient home visits. This caused a decrease in the number of home visits, and they could not bring students to the patients’ homes for practical training. These situations were associated with a decrease in the frequency of prescriptions for home care patients, and some pharmacists experienced patients refusing home care visits. In addition, there was a lack of masks and personal protective equipment. The increase in the burden on pharmacists was caused by a need for disinfection in the pharmacies and the increased number of patients’ home visits for delivery of drugs by telephone order. They also cited financial management problems of pharmacies. In addition, problems with their own family-related issues were cited. In this study, we described many important remarks concerning pharmacy practices and home health care during the COVID-19 outbreak that are concealed by official notifications and reports.
