Improving pharmacist involvement in pandemic influenza planning and response in Australia

This Issues Brief makes recommendations about how pharmacists in Australia can be better utilised for pandemic influenza preparedness and response. These recommendations are directed at state and territory health departments but will require engagement and action from stakeholders such as frontline pharmacists, professional pharmacy organisations, Primary Health Networks (PHNs) and Local Hospital Networks (LHNs). Appropriate engagement and communication among these key stakeholders will assist with pharmacists’ response to the next pandemic in Australia. There are several steps to improving pharmacist utilisation during a pandemic. These include clarification of pharmacist roles, communication and engagement with pharmacists and ensuring workforce capacity. This Issues Brief will firstly discuss how pharmacists are currently incorporated into Australian pandemic plans and what roles are currently within scope for pharmacists to perform during a pandemic. Pandemic plans from the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand will be used as examples for how current legislation could be adjusted to improve pharmacist practice during pandemic response. Secondly, communication mechanisms between departments of health and frontline pharmacists in current Australian pandemic plans will be reviewed. The importance of early engagement with key stakeholders, pre-defined communication strategies and workforce engagement with pharmacy organisations and pharmacists will be discussed. Finally, health workforce issues such as high levels of staff absence during a pandemic will be highlighted, with potential solutions from international pandemic plans and academic literature examined in an Australian context. Pharmacists are an essential part of everyday healthcare in Australia and have the potential to fulfil a variety of roles which may have broad impacts on the Australian healthcare system during a pandemic influenza outbreak. Pharmacists’ skill sets are currently not well utilised or incorporated into pandemic planning. Full utilisation of pharmacists’ skill sets would improve Australia’s health response to a pandemic influenza outbreak, reducing associated burdens to health and the economy

Disaster preparedness amongst pharmacists and pharmacy students: a systematic literature review

Objectives: In the aftermath of a disaster, the services provided by pharmacists are essential to ensure the continued health and well-being of the local population. To continue pharmacy services, it is critical that pharmacists are prepared for disasters. A systematic literature review was conducted to explore pharmacists’ and pharmacy students’ preparedness for disasters and the factors that affect preparedness. Methods: This review was conducted in April 2020 through electronic databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, Scopus and PsycINFO, and two disaster journals. Search terms such as ‘pharmacist*’, ‘disaster*’ and ‘prepared*’ were used. The search yielded an initial 1781 titles. Articles were included if they measured pharmacists or pharmacy students’ disaster preparedness. After screening and quality appraisal by two researchers, four articles were included in final analysis and review. Data were extracted using a data collection tool formulated by the researchers. Meta-analysis was not possible; instead, results were compared across key areas including preparedness ratings and factors that influenced preparedness. Key findings: Three articles focused on pharmacy students’ preparedness for disasters, and one on registered pharmacists’ preparedness. Preparedness across both groups was poor to moderate with <18% of registered pharmacists found to be prepared to respond to a disaster. Factors that potentially influenced preparedness included disaster competency, disaster interventions and demographic factors. Conclusion: For pharmacists, the lack of research around their preparedness speaks volumes about their current involvement and expectations within disaster management. Without a prepared pharmacy workforce and pharmacy involvement in disaster management, critical skill and service gaps in disasters may negatively impact patients.</p

Are pharmacists willing to work in disasters?

The recent Australian bushfires and the global COVID-19pandemic have highlighted the critical need for ensuringhealth workforce capacity during disasters. National, state andlocal disaster response plans assume that health professionalsare prepared and willing to respond to disasters. However, theliterature suggests that, depending on the disaster, health professionalsmay not be as willing as we may expect. This hesitancypotentially leads to critical gaps in health services deliveryduring and following disasters

Continuation of opioid replacement program delivery in the aftermath of cyclones in Queensland, Australia: A qualitative exploration of the perspectives of pharmacists and opioid replacement therapy staff

Background Cyclones can significantly impact on communities and their healthcare services. Community members with chronic diseases, including opioid dependence, who rely on these healthcare services are placed at an increased risk of treatment disruption during a disaster event. Disruptions to the continuity of the opioid replacement therapy (ORT) service can potentially lead to relapse, withdrawal, and risky behaviours in clients with potential repercussions for the community. Objective To explore the effects of Queensland (QLD) cyclones on opioid treatment programs within Queensland community and hospital pharmacies from three perspectives. Method Qualitative research methods were used. Participants comprised five community pharmacists, four Queensland opioid treatment program (QOTP) employees, and five public hospital pharmacists. Participants were identified as they had worked in Townsville, Rockhampton, Mackay, or Yeppoon in a community impacted by a cyclone and involved with ORT supply. Interviews were recorded and data were analysed by two methods - manual coding and the text analytics software Leximancer®. Results The two themes that emerged from the manual coding process were ‘disaster preparedness’ and ‘continuity of service’. The key themes from the Leximancer® analysis aligned with the two manual coding themes with no new themes identified. Primary dosing site closures in disaster-affected areas led to increased pressures on hospitals and other community pharmacy dosing sites to supply ORT doses to clients. However, a lack of dosing information available to pharmacists and strict legislative requirements made continuity of ORT supply during these cyclones difficult. Conclusion Continuation of ORT services during and in the aftermath of a cyclone event is complex. This research highlighted a need for a coordination of efforts and shared dosing information between QOTP employees, community pharmacists, and hospital pharmacists. To improve continuity of ORT services, it is essential that these stakeholders engage with each other in preparing for and responding to future events

Kahoot! Identifying where students need support within a large multidisciplinary clinical therapeutics unit

Kahoot! can be used to motivate students to learn.1 Kahoot! is an online quiz platform that allows interactive formative assessment by incorporating a points-based system and audio cues to create an engaging and competitive learning environment for students.2 Currently, no literature has explored the value of Kahoot! in identifying where support for students is required during an undergraduate semester