Impact of COVID-19 of oncology pharmacy services: Results of 8-months survey

Abstract

Introduction: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic stroke at the beginning of 2020, challenging the health systems worldwide. As hospitals became overwhelmed by the number of cases, and community pharmacies became one of the few non-stop operating services, and the work rhythm and workload of pharmacists changed importantly. Methods: To investigate which and how the changes occurred, especially among oncology pharmacists, the ESOP together with the EAHP developed a survey, translated to 9 languages, and distributed online. The questions were changed over the duration of the survey (August 2020 to March 2021), adapting to the global situation. The answers were analyzed with basic descriptive statistics. Results: Over 1000 health professionals, predominantly pharmacists (over 85%), from 64 countries participated in the monthly survey, providing information relevant to both the hospital and the community pharmacy. More than 50% of hospital pharmacists reported shortage of chemotherapeutics, while the availability of COVID-19 related medications had more fluctuations in the hospital pharmacy. Contrastingly, over 80% of community pharmacists reported medications shortages in April 2020. The survey showed the negative impact of the pandemic on chemotherapeutic preparations, with decreased productions during the first and second waves (February-May 2020, and November 2020 to January 2021). The survey also helped visualize the stress levels and workloads of pharmacists. More than 70% of participants reported in August 2020 to have needed to procure themselves with Personal Protective Equipment. Working hours increased for 43% of the respondents, and more than 60% reported to have felt emotionally stressed. Conclusions: Thus, the presented results give a broad, yet detailed overview of how the pandemic has affected health professionals both in the hospital and the community, how professionals and governments have reacted to the situation, and how the care of oncology patience and the practice of oncology pharmacy has changed and reacted during the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.