Preparedness of pharmacists to respond to the emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil: a comprehensive overview
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CURRENT OPINION
Preparedness of pharmacists to respond to the emergency of the COVID‑19 pandemic in Brazil: a comprehensive overview Maria Auxiliadora Parreiras Martins1,2,3,4 · Amanda Fonseca de Medeiros2 · Claudmeire Dias Carneiro de Almeida3 · Adriano Max Moreira Reis1,2,3,4
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
Abstract The outbreak of COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries is worrisome due to the social inequalities in these countries, their limited health budgets and the significant burden of other acute and chronic diseases. The leap in the number of cases in Brazil has imposed a huge strain on the healthcare system. We sought to provide a comprehensive overview of the challenges encountered by pharmacy services in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency in Brazil and discuss the role of clinical pharmacists in this context. Pharmaceutical services play a key role in the emergency response to the pandemic. The pharmacy workforce has been actively working to manage drug shortages, redesign workflow, and review drug formularies/protocols to improve safety for patients and healthcare professionals (HCPs). COVID-19 patients may present high risk in the use of medications and clinical pharmacists can contribute substantially as part of a multidisciplinary team to improve outcomes in drug therapy in severe and critical illness. The participation of pharmacists as members of antimicrobial stewardship programs should be enhanced to ensure appropriate and safe use of antibiotics in this context. HCPs should be encouraged to seek improvements in the performance of pharmaceutical services and innovative practices to respond to the pandemic. Further studies are needed to generate knowledge on COVID-19 to improve patient care in vulnerable populations.
Introduction Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging infectious disease first described in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) [1]. The outbreak of COVID-19 spread rapidly worldwide, being declared a pandemic on 11 Mar 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Human-to-human transmission occurs via droplets or * Maria Auxiliadora Parreiras Martins [email protected] 1
Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Pres. Antônio Carlos, 6627, Campus Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270‑901, Brazil
2
Hospital Risoleta Tolentino Neves, R. das Gabirobas, 1, Vila Cloris, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31744‑012, Brazil
3
Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Prof. Alfredo Balena, 110, Bairro Santa Efigênia, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 30130‑100, Brazil
4
Instituto para Práticas Seguras no Uso de Medicamentos, ISMP-Brasil, Av. do Contorno, 9215, sl 502, Bairro Prado, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 30110‑063, Brazil
contaminated hands or surfaces [1]. Various levels of classic public health strategies, such as social distancing, isolation, quarantine, and community containment, have been app
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