Airway management team for patients with COVID-19: A new role for emergency medicine pharmacists

Abstract

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has brought significant challenges to all healthcare providers in the United States. Hospital pharmacy departments are being forced to swiftly implement new working conditions that impact frontline clinical pharmacists. Some of the strategies being implemented for clinical pharmacist staffing include remote work from home, telepharmacy coverage, cross-training of clinical pharmacists to cover new patient care units, and pharmacist reassignment to other pharmacies across the institution. As the pandemic continues—and will likely continue for the near future—clinical pharmacists must do their best to adapt to the rapid and daily disruptions in pharmacy practice.