What Does Cross-Industry-Production Bring Under COVID-19? A Multi-Methodological Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to shutdowns of myriad factories, resulting in extreme scarce production capacity and disruptions of supply chains. Many manufacturing firms around the world struggle to ramp up their production capacity to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic. We adopt a multimethodological approach to examine the impacts of cross-industry production (CIP) on supply chains and society. First, we provide evidence of CIP of personal and protective equipment (PPE), including CIP's business model, CIP in real-world practice, and the global supply chain of PPE by collecting public organizational data. Second, we confirm the importance of CIP and its beneficial impacts on brand value and society by conducting statistical tests and analyses. Third, we propose a framework of CIP implementation from the perspectives of firms and governments. Finally, we conduct real-world case studies to illustrate the framework of CIP. We find that CIP in pandemic time can significantly increase capacity to tens or even thousands of times of normal capacity in a short period, which can enhance firms’brand values and profiles and improve their social impacts and benefits. We provide managerial insights and guidance to firms with potential CIP capability and governments in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. IEEE

Personal protective practices and pharmacy services delivery by community pharmacists during COVID-19 pandemic: Results from a national survey.

INTRODUCTION: Coronavirus disease (COVID19) has adversely affected the delivery of various health services. Little is known about the impact of COVID19 on pharmacy services across the United Kingdom (UK). We surveyed community pharmacists across the UK to understand their protective practices, professional and general well-being, and the delivery of pharmacy services during the COVID19 pandemic. METHODS: Community pharmacists were invited to participate in a cross-sectional survey via the nationwide weekly newsletter of Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and the local pharmaceutical committees during the second week of May 2020. The survey remained open for 4 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 206 pharmacists responded to the survey with representations from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The majority of pharmacists (>75% or above) reported an increase in customer traffic to their pharmacy and were asking relevant questions from patients with flu-like symptoms before signposting them to the appropriate care. Most pharmacists (>85%) were maintaining a safe distance of 2 m from customers and 72% were wearing an N95 protective mask and 28% were using protective gloves and apron in addition to safe distancing and protective masks. Ninety-nine percent of pharmacists reported drug shortages with 38% and 26% reported significant drug shortages and critical drug shortages causing disruptions beyond over the counter medicines. Eighty-nine percent pharmacists reported inappropriate behaviour from patients or carers with 31% and 16% reported it to be a regular or frequent problem, respectively. Fifty-three% of pharmacists were willing to offer their assistance for mass testing of COVID19 antibodies if adequate training and reimbursement are provided. CONCLUSION: Community pharmacists in the UK are facing considerable challenges in terms of personal protection and the delivery of pharmacy services. Inappropriate behaviour from patients and carers towards community pharmacists require urgent attention to ensure a safe working place for all community pharmacists.