Economic impact of COVID-19 on community pharmacy

Abstract

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.