Procedure for delivery of retrocession drugs by the hospital pharmacist to the community pharmacy during the COVID-19 crisis: Satisfaction survey of pharmacies

Background and importance The COVID-19 epidemic led to a reduction in travel for fragile patients to the hospital's pharmacy in our teaching hospital. We applied the ministerial procedure which ensured the continuity of patient treatment by delivering drugs to the patient's pharmacy of their choice.1 Aim and objectives This was enabled in Reims by means of an email address used by pharmacies to send prescriptions to the hospital pharmacy.2 Based on a questionnaire of satisfaction intended for patients and pharmacies, we evaluated this system, set up from 23 March to 10 July 2020. Material and methods We conducted a prospective satisfaction survey of patients and pharmacies who participated in the hospital-city ministerial procedure. Data collection was carried out by telephone for patients and by an anonymised questionnaire for pharmacies. The criteria evaluated were the quality of the service, speed of delivery, if treatment was interrupted, difficulties in supplying the treatment, need for advice and overall satisfaction (score out of 10). Results 134 patients and 52 pharmacies participated in the study. 186 dispensations were performed (27% of activity). 95% of patients and 96% of pharmacies judged the quality of the information as satisfactory. The speed of the procedure was satisfactory (96% for pharmacies and 90% for patients). 92% of pharmacies did not have any supply problems and there were four treatment breaks during the study period. The average overall satisfaction rating for pharmacies was 8.5/ 10. 89% of pharmacies were in favour of continuing the procedure and 90% considered that it was involved in strengthening the city-hospital link. Conclusion and relevance The results tended towards a high overall satisfaction rate. However, the occurrence of treatment breaks and lower patient satisfaction with the speed of treatment delivery (90%) are areas for improvement. While making the procedure more flexible and improving the delivery of treatment, patients and pharmacies have expressed a desire to continue the procedure, which is deemed more practical and beneficial for strengthening the city-hospital link.

French consensus on management of head and neck cancer surgery during COVID-19 pandemic.

In the context of the current pandemic, there is a need for specific advice concerning treatment of patients with Head and Neck cancers. The rule is to limit as much as possible the number of patients in order to reduce the risks of contamination by the SARS-Cov-2 virus for both patients and the caregivers, who are particularly exposed in ENT. The aim is to minimize the risk of loss of opportunity for patients and to anticipate the increased number of cancer patients to be treated at the end of the pandemic, taking into account the degree of urgency, the difficulty of the surgery, the risk of contaminating the caregivers (tracheotomy) and the local situation (whether or not the hospital and intensive care departments are overstretched).