The Pandemic COVID-19 and the Auspicious Role of Frontier Pharmacists against This Global Threat

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Abstract
The frontline pharmacists during this pandemic COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) situation are potentially contributing to saving human lives worldwide. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the current contributions of pharmacists among the frontline healthcare professionals in the management of the COVID-19 crisis across the world. MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Web of Science, and Scopus databases were searched for this study from March 20, 2020 to May 20, 2020. The basic keyword “pharmacist and COVID-19” was used to select studies. Relevant English-language studies, guidelines, articles, relevant published reports in different online news portals and official web pages of different organizations were searched. Pharmacists in the United States and United Kingdom are testing patients for COVID-19 and providing medical advice to patients. Community pharmacists in European countries are focused on the smooth supply of essential medicines, and working to build awareness regarding the community transmission of COVID-19. Hospital and clinical pharmacists are working to facilitate the effective medication therapy management for improving the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 patients. Pharmacists in low-and middle-income countries around the world have focused their efforts mainly on awareness-building activities regarding the community transmission of COVID-19, and the mass production of alcohol-based hand-sanitizer. Several resources are globally available for pharmacists to improve their competency and self-protection from COVID-19. Frontline pharmacists are enthusiastically contributing in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 from a community-to-clinical level worldwide. Their active participation as a member of the frontline healthcare team is crucial in order to address and overcome the challenges that this pandemic has created, and to tackle this global healthcare crisis efficiently.