COVID-19 pandemic preparedness: A practical guide from an operational pharmacy perspective

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Critical Care Medicine
• Pandemic Preparedness

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for healthcare systems, particularly in managing surges of critically ill patients.
• Urban medical centers in epicenters faced immense pressure on pharmacy services to support critical care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To detail a medical center's pharmacy preparedness process for patient surges during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To provide guidance for other institutions on preparing pharmacy services for critical care patient surges.

Main Methods:

• Developed a proactive pharmacy action plan anticipating a surge in critically ill COVID-19 patients.
• Created guidance documents for workflow, implemented comprehensive staff education, and repurposed non-ICU pharmacists for ICU roles.
• Optimized electronic health records and automated dispensing cabinets for medication management and prescribing.

Main Results:

• Ensured staff safety, developed robust scheduling, and maintained drug inventory and sterile compounding.
• Streamlined pharmacy workflow to facilitate timely delivery of pharmacotherapeutic regimens.
• Successfully adapted pharmacy services to meet the demands of a critical care surge.

Conclusions:

• The COVID-19 crisis highlighted the need for continuous internal review and enhancement of hospital pharmacy workflows.
• Preparedness initiatives developed during the pandemic can be sustained to improve future operational resilience.