- Nurses, doctors, stretcher bearers, caregivers are among the frontline caregivers in this fight against the epidemic. Pharmacists too.
- In the 22,000 pharmacies, these professionals deliver advice, medicines and have acquired new roles: distribution of masks to caregivers in particular.
- But will some of these new prerogatives be able to last? It depends on the measures, according to the three pharmacists and good connoisseurs of these questions that 20 Minutes interviewed.
It is sometimes the lighthouse at night. When the outings are limited, the shops closed, the doctors only available on screen, the pharmacy, where humans deliver medicines, advice and encouragement, safeguards a relationship of quality care and proximity. Even if today, many of us are greeted by a sign: "no mask, no gel, no thermometer" ... At the dawn of this unprecedented health crisis, the role of the pharmacist is amended. To what extent and for how long?
Essential role in prevention
In the absence of vaccine, treatment, we have prevention, warned Sunday Edouard Philippependant his great oral two hours alongside the Prime Minister. It would seem that pharmacists, with their 22,000 pharmacies spread across the country, have become frontline players in this fight against the coronavirus. "When the medical offices are in teleconsultation, that the patients avoid the hospital, the pharmacist is more than ever the health referent towards whom we turn to for his daily pathologies, but also for the concerns around the Covid", advance Carine Wolf -Thal, President of the National Council of the Order of Pharmacists.
Quickly, the management of protections (and its various shortages) took more and more time. Each week, his little challenge. In mid-March, when hydroalcoholic gel was becoming a rare pearl, some pharmacists made their own hydroalcoholic solution. For a month now, the question of masks has occupied part of their day ... and conversations. "Overall, the patients are quite kind," says Guillaume Campo, pharmacist in Hagetmau (Landes). Even if we often notice a form of indignation: it was not necessary to put on a mask, now you have to wear it, but there is none! Tomorrow, pharmacies could be even more essential if they obtain the right to carry out Covid tests for citizens. A key role which would be added to new skills acquired recently: the possibility of vaccinating against the flu in pharmacies the most vulnerable populations, of carrying out oropharyngeal tests of diagnostic orientation of angina (Trod) by the pharmacist.
New missions
Little by little, the picture of new rights has grown during this crisis. "We adapt every day," breathes Guillaume Campo, founder of Ouipharma. Thus, until May 31, pharmacists can renew prescriptions in the event of chronic illness to avoid patients going through the doctor's box. "We see emergency situations," he says. For example, diabetics whose treatment is normally well balanced but who no longer exercise, blood sugar levels skyrocket, and since their treatment has not been reassessed, this is problematic. "
The same goes for access to the voluntary termination of pregnancy. Exceptionally, during this health crisis, women can, after a teleconsultation, obtain pharmacies for the abortion in pharmacies when it was normally delivered in the office or directly by the midwife. Two prerogatives which must remain transient, according to the Order of Pharmacists.
"It's very time-consuming, super complicated, but we see our role as a health professional", rejoices Guillaume Campo. But could these new missions sustainably change the profession of community pharmacists?
Long term?
The first prerogative that could remain: to be a relay point for victims of family violence. The pharmacist can either notify the police, if the person wishes, or give him the relevant numbers. A system, already implemented on a long-term basis in Spain and which was launched at the end of March in France. "The pharmacist already has a social role, helping and orienting people in pain, whether psychological or linked to violence," nuances the president of the Order of Pharmacists. There, the context meant that the women found themselves trapped at home, and the dispensary remained an accessible place, offering an easy excuse to find. I think this device can be part of the long term. But it may be less used after the confinement period because the associations can resume their active role and the information points can reopen. "
Second sobering change: deliveries. If they existed before confinement, they remained exceptional. “Babywearing is the great thing about this Covid adventure,” assures Philippe Besset. We do it on a voluntary basis, and that's normal. But maybe it will be interesting later to use it in an organized way. To keep the portage on medical prescription for some patients who cannot move. A bit like nurses and private doctors who receive mileage allowances when they travel home. A request that does not date from the coronavirus. "For me, it is essential that the pharmacist make deliveries to guarantee the proper delivery of drugs, sometimes sensitive to light and heat," adds the president of the Order. When we get home, we can explain the treatment, recover expired medicines to destroy them… ”
Find our file
Finally, in a more organizational way, collaboration between caregivers is reinforced by this crisis. "This will be one of the things we will have learned from this crisis: we must work together," adds the president of the Order. Distributing the masks to caregivers in pharmacies, every week, is an opportunity to exchange, undeniably, it creates links. We learned to stick together through this crisis that we are experiencing on the front line. Especially since this communication is based on digital tools boosted by this period: teleconsultations have soared, accustoming patients as caregivers to this kind of virtual contact and democratizing the installation of necessary software. "Today 1/4 of our prescriptions are by email or fax," says the Landes pharmacist. In the same kind of idea, Philippe Besset, wearing his union cap, launches a suggestion: “It is striking to see during this crisis that the French have a treating pharmacist. It would be important for the patient, the day he has a problem, that the hospital, the doctor, the family know who his pharmacist is. For example, it could be added to the Shared Medical Record. »Coordination of caregivers for a relevant care pathway and tele-care, two axes of Ma Santé 2022, could therefore come out winners from this health crisis.
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