Page 52 - Retail Pharmacy Assistants - October 2020

50 BONES AND JOINTS ARTHRITIS A MIXED BAG DURING COVID-19 PBy Nerine Zoio. well as telehealth services that have worked well for arthritis patients. As to osteoarthritis, the message that exercise and lifestyle interventions are the best deterrents still needs to be loudly proclaimed. Arthritis Australia National Policy and Government Relations Manager Franca Marine tells Retail Pharmacy Assistants that hydroxychloroquine aroused much interest as a possible treatment or preventive therapy for coronavirus. Earlier in the year during the first lockdown, this resulted in a “huge surge” in demand for the drug accompanied by “increased prescribing and stockpiling” of it. “As a consequence, there were supply issues for people with autoimmune conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, who needed the drug, which generated quite some stress,” Ms Marine said. “Stories abounded of some people visiting up to 15 pharmacies to obtain the drug, to no avail. “The situation was exacerbated in that the drugs patients take for these conditions are immunosuppressive, so people were already concerned that they were at greater risk of contracting the coronavirus due to compromised immune systems.” Hydroxychloroquine versus virus Pharmacy assistants should be aware that there is little evidence that hydroxychloroquine (or chloroquine) safeguards against Covid-19. This is according to three randomised controlled trials of hydroxychloroquine that have not proven or disproved a beneficial or harmful effect on Covid-19 clinical course or clearance of the virus. However, Ms Marine says access to hydroxychloroquine has since improved. “The government, working with a range of stakeholders, introduced measures at the supplier and pharmacy wholesaler level to address the problem,” she said. Limits were put on prescribing, with only specialists having the mandate to initiate new scripts for hydroxychloroquine and other in-demand drugs, as well as a month’s harmacies have an important role to play in the management of arthritis because so many people will experience joint pain at some point in their lives and look to pharmacies as their first port of call or for ongoing assistance. Pharmacy assistants can help with advice or analgesics, especially at a time when arthritis sufferers have had to navigate a new healthcare landscape as a result of Covid-19. This spans funded telehealth sessions and customised websites, the impact of opioid restrictions, drug shortages and myths around the chronic disease. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients at times struggled to access the anti- rheumatic drug hydroxychloroquine with so many people striving to get their hands on the drug as a touted potential safeguard against the coronavirus. However, government interventions and the establishment of a customised website have proven advantageous for those suffering from the condition, as RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • OCT 2020