Challenges in pharmacy practice in dealing with risk of infections during COVID-19

ABSTRACT

The aim of the present study was to investigate the challenges facing pharmacy practice in dealing with the risk of infections in COVID-19 by implementing different precautions. A retrospective, questionnaire survey was conducted, and 57 pharmacists in the cities of Dobrich and Stara Zagora were surveyed with a preliminary questionnaire in the period January-May 2022. The questionnaire contains 46 questions about respondent characteristics, pharmacies, information about COVID-19, and worker and staff protection measures. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of additional measures have been implemented in pharmacies and by pharmacists to ensure the safety of patients and pharmacy workers, but they do not fully meet international safety standards. Still unsolved challenges for pharmacists and pharmacies are the inability to change the space, as well as to guarantee separate service for infected patients. It is necessary for the state institutions to introduce the same measures for all health professionals in order to guarantee the non-delay of providing pharmaceutical services in the conditions of a pandemic.