ROLE OF THE PHARMACY WORKFORCE IN PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE

To advocate that all healthcare organizations include pandemic preparedness in emergency preparedness planning; further,

To encourage all healthcare organizations to be actively engaged with their regional healthcare coalitions and to promote collaboration and communication among healthcare workers, healthcare organizations, government agencies, industry, and other stakeholders in pandemic preparedness and response; further,

To promote pharmacy workforce involvement in networks at the federal, state, local, and institutional levels for emergency response; further,

To advocate that pharmacy personnel be included as leaders on teams responsible for pandemic preparedness planning and response at the federal, state, local, and institutional levels, and that they integrate such planning into emergency preparedness planning for their workplaces; further,

To encourage all healthcare organizations to establish criteria for evidence-based medication-use decisions, even when such evidence is scarce, incomplete, or conflicting, and recognize the unique role that pharmacy personnel have in ensuring the safe and effective use of medications based on best available evidence and resources; further,

To advocate that healthcare organizations recognize the unique and collective stress a pandemic places on healthcare workers and provide suitable resources to maintain workers’ well-being and resilience; further,

To support research on and provide resources and education to aid the pharmacy workforce in preparing for and responding to pandemics.

Rationale

ASHP has long advocated “that hospital and health-system pharmacists must assertively exercise their responsibilities in preparing for and responding to disasters, and the leaders of emergency planning at the federal, regional, state, and local levels must call on pharmacists to participate in the full range of issues related to pharmaceuticals.” (ASHP Statement on Emergency Preparedness)  

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic differs from other types of disasters in significant respects, testing the resiliency of the healthcare system and workforce. Treating patients with a novel viral pathogen has driven rapid evolution in therapies, forcing healthcare providers to make patient care decisions based on scarce, incomplete, or conflicting information. These decisions have sometimes been complicated by shortages of crucial drugs, equipment, or staff, creating a crisis standard of care in which difficult patient care decisions must be made. The patient surges that healthcare organizations have had to manage have lasted significantly longer than those of other disasters. Healthcare workers have faced stressful patient care situations and extended shifts for a longer period of time than in other disasters. In addition, the fear of infection and of spreading that infection to family members and others has added additional stress. Infection control procedures have shut down some areas of healthcare operations, forcing healthcare workers into unfamiliar roles and care settings.   

ASHP advocates that the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic be shared broadly and incorporated into emergency planning at the federal, state, local, institutional, and pharmacy department levels. All healthcare organizations should be actively engaged with their regional healthcare coalitions, and pharmacy leaders, with their unique understanding of medication-use processes, should be relied upon to provide strategic direction on the full range of issues related to medication use, especially when evidence is scarce, incomplete, or conflicting, and drugs or other critical resources are in shortage. The pharmacy workforce should incorporate the lessons learned in its emergency planning efforts, integrating those efforts into the efforts of emergency response networks at the federal, state, local, and institutional levels. ASHP pledges to promote collaboration and communication among the various stakeholders in pandemic preparedness and response, and to provide resources and education to aid the pharmacy workforce and others in preparing for and responding to pandemics, including resources regarding novel therapies, shortages of drugs and other critical supplies, and healthcare worker well-being and resilience.