National Academies of Science, April 22, 2020.
Research by NAM Pharmacy Fellow Dima M. Qato has shed light on “pharmacy deserts” and closures that reduce people’s access to medications.
Pharmacies have been one of the few types of businesses allowed to stay open despite states’ closures of nonessential businesses to help contain COVID-19 — a fact that reflects the key role they play in supporting public health, explains Dima M. Qato, an associate professor at the University of Illinois’ College of Pharmacy and the current National Academy of Medicine Fellow in Pharmacy.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced that pharmacies are an ‘essential’ component of the health care system,” says Qato. “Even though they are largely part of the private sector, they are critical in promoting and protecting public health, particularly providing access to medicines and other essential items (such as hand sanitizer) before, during, and following a crisis. They also increasingly provide preventive and emergency care — for example, immunizations, contraception, and the opioid overdose antidote naloxone.”