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Pharmacy Practice and Emergency Preparedness, Resilience, and Response

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Encyclopedia of Evidence in Pharmaceutical Public Health and Health Services Research in Pharmacy

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Abstract

Pharmacists are integral to emergency response and recovery. They are widely trusted and the most accessible healthcare provider. As such, pharmacists need to be prepared to fulfill their roles during disasters and continue to meet the expectations and needs of their patients and community members. A resilient community relies on a resilient pharmacy workforce that is linked to the broader emergency and health disaster planning and capable of adapting and responding to the unique challenges presented. This chapter outlines terminology specific to disasters and emergencies that may be unfamiliar to pharmacists and provides an overview of the global and pharmacy-specific frameworks for emergency preparedness, resilience, and response. Pharmacists’ roles in emergencies are described for both frontline pharmacists and pharmacy management positions. Case studies of previous disaster and emergency events are mentioned, and pharmacists’ contributions to these events are highlighted. This chapter also includes a specific focus on pharmacists and the COVID-19 pandemic, including a detailed outline of the response in Uganda using the lessons learned from the Ebola outbreaks. Finally, this chapter summarizes the importance of having pharmacists in disasters and emergencies and calls for greater integration of frontline pharmacists and pharmacy representation within disaster health planning.

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Abbreviations

ASHP:

American Society of Health-System Pharmacists

CPA:

Commonwealth Pharmacists Association

EPRR:

Emergency Preparedness Resilience and Response

ERF:

Emergency Response Framework

FIP:

International Pharmaceutical Federation

IHR (2015):

International Health Regulations

ISR (1951):

International Sanitary Regulations

PEPR:

Pharmacy Emergency Preparedness and Response

PHEIC :

Public Health Emergency of International Concern

PPRR:

prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery

UK:

United Kingdom

UN:

United Nations

US:

United States

WHO:

World Health Organization

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. EPICORE Centre, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Kaitlyn E. Watson

  2. Disaster Pharmacy Solutions, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Kaitlyn E. Watson & Elizabeth M. McCourt

  3. Redland Hospital, Metro South, Queensland Health, Cleveland, QLD, Australia

    Elizabeth M. McCourt

  4. Princess Alexandra Southside Clinical Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

    Elizabeth M. McCourt

  5. Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Elizabeth M. McCourt

  6. Infectious Diseases Institute, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda

    Peter Ahabwe Babigumira

  7. Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, Ministry of Health, Kampala, Uganda

    Peter Ahabwe Babigumira

  8. School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, UK

    Diane Ashiru-Oredope

  9. School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

    Diane Ashiru-Oredope

Authors
  1. Kaitlyn E. Watson
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  2. Elizabeth M. McCourt
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  3. Peter Ahabwe Babigumira
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  4. Diane Ashiru-Oredope
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diane Ashiru-Oredope .

Section Editor information

  1. Commonwealth Pharmacists Association, Lahore, Pakistan

    Rabia Hussain

  2. Department of Pharmacy, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom

    Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar

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Watson, K.E., McCourt, E.M., Babigumira, P.A., Ashiru-Oredope, D. (2023). Pharmacy Practice and Emergency Preparedness, Resilience, and Response. In: Encyclopedia of Evidence in Pharmaceutical Public Health and Health Services Research in Pharmacy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50247-8_118-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50247-8_118-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-50247-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-50247-8

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