TY - JOUR
AU - Alshammari, Elham
AU - Suaydan, Dalal Bin
AU - Alhussain, Sarah
AU - Alsaleh, Nada
AU - Alshammari, Ahlam
PY - 2020
DA - August
TI - Economic impact of COVID-19 on community pharmacy
JO - International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences
EP - 518
VL - 11
IS - SPL1
DO -  https://doi.org/10.26452/ijrps.v11iSPL1.2840
AB - The onset of COVID-19 has harmed community pharmacy. As a result, the current study sought to investigate how the coronavirus disease affected community pharmacies from an economic perspective. Short interviews were conducted with 158 community pharmacies located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The findings showed that most of the community pharmacies incurred losses of over 10% as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic during its first month in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, the findings revealed that 19.6% of the pharmacies had a 0.1-2% profit during the first month,1.9% had 10%+ profit, while 13.9% experienced a drop in profits. According to the findings, 41.8% (n = 66) of the pharmacists were not sure what they dispensed during the first month of COVID 19. However, almost one out of every five pharmacies (n = 31, 19.6%) accepted that they mostly dispensed antipyretic, vitamins, face mask and sanitisers. It could take many years from now until researchers can understand and measure the coronavirus disease as required. Based on these outcomes and possibilities, the study recommends that the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health intervene to enlighten the public on appropriate health practices. Besides, the Ministry of Health may consider engaging with policymakers in developing financial policies that protect community pharmacies and the private sector from potential losses. Moreover, the Ministry of Health may expand the role of community pharmacies to allow them to offer home care services.
PB - JK Welfare & Pharmascope Foundation
UR - https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/74239/
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
ER