{"title":"Crisis management in community pharmacies during a pandemic","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.sapharm.2024.06.010","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><p>Although the COVID-19 pandemic required community pharmacies to implement several adaptation strategies to ensure medicines' and services’ availability, related empirical research based on crisis management theory is lacking.</p></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><p>This study sought to holistically depict crisis management in Finnish community pharmacies and explore whether (1) pre-existing crisis plans, (2) crisis teams, (3) shared decision-making or (4) collaboration and communication with external stakeholders can protect staff resilience, pharmacy owners' resilience, organisational cohesion (‘team spirit’) and pharmacies' resources or finances during the pandemic.</p></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><p>A cross-sectional survey was developed based on the crisis management process model and sent to Finnish community pharmacy owners (n = 602) during the pandemic's second wave in October–November 2020. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and logistic regression analysis was performed to explore effects of crisis management efforts. Open-field responses were analysed qualitatively using deductive content analysis.</p></div><div><h3>Results</h3><p>In total, 221 (36.7 %) pharmacy owners participated in the study. Pharmacies responded to the pandemic with increased order volumes and new suppliers, home deliveries and remote consultations, hand sanitiser production and additional customer counselling concerning the COVID-19. Shared decision-making with pharmacy colleagues (p = 0.025) and collaboration with peers or stakeholders in the supply chain (p = 0.015) protected pharmacy owners' resilience during the pandemic. Additionally, shared decision-making protected pharmacies' finances (p = 0.040). Crisis teams or collaboration with social and healthcare operators did not provide advantage to pharmacies. However, pre-existing pandemic plans associated with reduction of pharmacies’ resources (p = 0.006).</p></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><p>Community pharmacies responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with several measures to ensure the continuity of pharmaceutical services and care and the availability of medicines, disinfectants and personal protective equipment. Developing shared decision-making in pharmacies and active collaboration with peers and supply-chain stakeholders could improve pharmacies' finances and their owners’ resilience in future crises.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48126,"journal":{"name":"Research in Social & Administrative Pharmacy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1551741124002018/pdfft?md5=19936cbda45f7a4abbb00f2188c901e0&pid=1-s2.0-S1551741124002018-main.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Research in Social & Administrative Pharmacy","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1551741124002018","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Although the COVID-19 pandemic required community pharmacies to implement several adaptation strategies to ensure medicines' and services’ availability, related empirical research based on crisis management theory is lacking.
Objective
This study sought to holistically depict crisis management in Finnish community pharmacies and explore whether (1) pre-existing crisis plans, (2) crisis teams, (3) shared decision-making or (4) collaboration and communication with external stakeholders can protect staff resilience, pharmacy owners' resilience, organisational cohesion (‘team spirit’) and pharmacies' resources or finances during the pandemic.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey was developed based on the crisis management process model and sent to Finnish community pharmacy owners (n = 602) during the pandemic's second wave in October–November 2020. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and logistic regression analysis was performed to explore effects of crisis management efforts. Open-field responses were analysed qualitatively using deductive content analysis.
Results
In total, 221 (36.7 %) pharmacy owners participated in the study. Pharmacies responded to the pandemic with increased order volumes and new suppliers, home deliveries and remote consultations, hand sanitiser production and additional customer counselling concerning the COVID-19. Shared decision-making with pharmacy colleagues (p = 0.025) and collaboration with peers or stakeholders in the supply chain (p = 0.015) protected pharmacy owners' resilience during the pandemic. Additionally, shared decision-making protected pharmacies' finances (p = 0.040). Crisis teams or collaboration with social and healthcare operators did not provide advantage to pharmacies. However, pre-existing pandemic plans associated with reduction of pharmacies’ resources (p = 0.006).
Conclusions
Community pharmacies responded to the COVID-19 pandemic with several measures to ensure the continuity of pharmaceutical services and care and the availability of medicines, disinfectants and personal protective equipment. Developing shared decision-making in pharmacies and active collaboration with peers and supply-chain stakeholders could improve pharmacies' finances and their owners’ resilience in future crises.
期刊介绍:
Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy (RSAP) is a quarterly publication featuring original scientific reports and comprehensive review articles in the social and administrative pharmaceutical sciences. Topics of interest include outcomes evaluation of products, programs, or services; pharmacoepidemiology; medication adherence; direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medications; disease state management; health systems reform; drug marketing; medication distribution systems such as e-prescribing; web-based pharmaceutical/medical services; drug commerce and re-importation; and health professions workforce issues.