What Pharmacists Can Do To Help Prevent Spread of H1N1

WHAT PHARMACISTS CAN DO TO HELP PREVENT THE SPREAD OF H1N1

The Health Ministry has called upon the public to help stop the spread of the H1N1 disease. From the reports coming in, the control of the spread of the disease seems now to lie in the rakyat’s hands and how much precaution they take. The Ministry of Health is calling for public education.

Pharmacists as healthcare providers is called up to play an important role in this current H1N1 crisis, be it in the community or hospital, in retail or in the trade, academician or even as student. Put forward your professional front to help the people with what they need to do and what you can do for them, or provide them referral to seek further help.

With daily reports of death related to the H1N1, one needs to do whatever one can to help our fellow human being.

The government is trying to tell the public that the situation is still within control but one cannot really read the undertone of such message. They may try to downplay the seriousness of the situation to avoid panic, but at the same time they must also express the seriousness of the situation if the population does not come forward to play their part in prevention.

Community Pharmacists are urged to make time to educate your customers on the ways to contain the spread of H1N1. Being frontliners in dealing with the public everyday, community pharmacists can certainly do this. This also will enhance your image as being caring and professional.

Those not in the community practice can play their role too by interacting with the public in their own immediate surroundings. They could be your neighbours, your PIBG, your sports club, your gym, your favourite banker, your place of worship. You can proactively offer to provide the education by giving talks at their gatherings. Just a 5-minute presentation would help to emphasize the importance of the people’s role in stopping the spread of the disease.

At the same time it is important that pharmacists are equipped with the right knowledge and should impart the same and right message to others. They are lots of myths going around. Please ensure that you read the resources from a reputable source.

Resources for your interaction with your community can be found at the Ministry of Health website whereby you can also keep yourself up to date on the situation. They have a dedicated site on H1N1. The newspaper is also another important source as they published some of the articles from the MoH site.

Below are resources for you to prepare yourself for this social task.

All refer to websites which you have to go online to download / read. There are 2 parts:

1. Resources for Basic Knowledge
2. Materials you can use in your education to the public and materials you can use.

RESOURCES FOR BASIC KNOWLEDGE
A.What is H1N1 ?
a. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm
b. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
c. http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/frequently_asked_questions/en/index.html
d. High risk groups: >> http://h1n1.moh.gov.my/highRisk.php

B. Prevention Guidelines for Health Workers: http://h1n1.moh.gov.my/h1n1PreventionGuidelines.php

C. Patient Home Care Advice: >> http://h1n1.moh.gov.my/PatientHomeCareAdvice.php

D. Algorithm for Treatment if ILI in Adult Patients (You are not to start treatment, but you should know how it is treated and what medications are being used. Reminder that you are not to dispense the anti-viral without a valid prescription) >> http://h1n1.moh.gov.my/AlgorithmILIAdults.php

MATERIALS YOU CAN USE IN YOUR EDUCATION OF THE PUBIC

1. You can start your presentation by using this as a guide: >>http://h1n1.moh.gov.my/panduanPenjagaanKesihatanDiriDiRumah.php

2. Taking care of a sick person in your home:
>> http://h1n1.moh.gov.my/TakingCareOfSickPerson.php

3. Flyers for public distribution which you can download and Photostat on what is Influenza H1N1, prevention: >>http://h1n1.moh.gov.my

i. Leaflets: (cough, Protect yourself – suggest this one, keep your hands clean)
ii. Flyers: (prevent influenza, Know Influenza – depend on your audience)
iii. Posters: (Keep Your Hands Clean, How to wear mask, Prevent Influenza, - Prevent H1N1 – not necessary if you do not want to use these materials)

4. From there, depending on your audience you can explain more. There are various information for different sectors which you can download before making the presentation. It is not a powerpoint, just notes which are easy to read, namely:

i. Public (house, recognizing flu-like symptoms and to stay at home if having ILI, understanding what home quarantine is, washing of hands, wearing of mask, taking care of sick people, precaution for pregnant women, talking to children)

ii.Schools (washing of hands, recognizing flu-like symptoms and to stay at home if having ILI, understanding what home quarantine is)

iii. Tourism sector and public transport (talk about advice while traveling, wearing of masks and usage of hand sanitizers)

5. There are other sectors which are more specialized. If you are speaking to such a group you should speak only on the people aspect. But an understanding of the H1N1 situation can easily help you to talk to these sectors, but if you are not comfortable, then please concentrate your activity in your own surrounding. You may contact MPS if you need support for a bigger group eg corporates, factories, schools and institute of higher learning, shopping malls.

6. If you wish to have computer presentation, they are available at the site in pdf format:

i. On the same site, >> JK Teknikal H1N1 >> “Pembentangan” (but they are outdated)
ii. You can read what is the decision of the Technical Committee for Influenza Pandemic at the same site and click on >> “Keputusan Mesyuarat” (quite up to date, but the newspaper could be more up to date)

7. If you wish to have video, they are also available. To download, click on the video from http://h1n1.moh.gov.my. Click to display the video and you can find a download button. You can screen this at your pharmacy too. Topics available are:

a.Amalkan Kebersihan Diri
b.Gejala H1N1
c.Jika Anda Ke Luar Negara
d.Basuh tangan
e.Guna Penutup Mulut Hidung Dengan Betul

OTHER RESOURCES FOR YOUR READING
I. For the public / Taking care of you and your family
a. http://www.who.int/gpsc/5may/How_To_HandWash_Poster.pdf
b. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance_homecare.htm
c. http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/pdf/covercough_hcp8-5x11.pdf

II. Numerous resources available at the Ministry of Health Malaysia website:
a. http://www.moh.gov.my/MohPortal/newsFull.jsp?action=load&id=446
b. http://h1n1.moh.gov.my

III. Crisis preparedness and response centre (CPRC): Tel: 03-8881 0200 / 0300

IV. National Influenze Pandemic Preparednes Plan (NIPPP)
a. >>http://h1n1.moh.gov.my/NIPPP.php

COMMUNITY PHARMACIST TO PLACE ETHICS IN FRONT

Do not sell any anti-viral drugs without prescriptions. We have been clearly warned in the media and we should uphold our integrity. Please do not smear the pharmacist reputation. However, we can educate the public about the usage of anti-virals.

Pharmacists are also able to screen and assess if our customer is showing flu-like symptoms and the need to quickly refer them back to their family doctor. You can also work with a few clinics in our area and check out which ones are offering the Rapid Test for H1N1.

Talk to the doctor and tell him about your intentions of referrals of potential patients. The MoH has already given the directive to private doctors to start anti-viral treatments on 3 groups of high risk patients.

Be careful on your pricing of the masks. A reasonable profit is acceptable. Emphasize to your customer about your cost price. Community pharmacy at the tail end of the distribution could easily be blame for hiking up the price by the consumer without knowing that your cost has done up.

A brief survey with retail pharmacists throughout the country shows a price range from 50cents to RM1.00 for a piece of 3 ply mask. We encourage pharmacists not to sell the mask for more than RM1.00 per piece.

OVERALL COMMENTS – A DEVELOPING STRATEGY

Please take note that your efforts here as an individual can add up to a lot. Each one effort will help to emphasize to the public the seriousness of the situation. Help stop the spread of the disease today. This is not to taken lightly as if the rate of infection rise, a crisis will develop and the whole country could come to a standstill. There is actually no time to wait, but to start now.

A side comment is that this issue is not exclusive for anyone, including the doctors. By our actions, they could become envious of us by our concerted actions.

What you have to do could mean committing more time but they are all rewarding professionally. The plan for this is very simple and that is to stir the public to a level of concern and urgency to take prevention measures.

But do realize that the situation is changing daily, so in order to keep updated, you are kindly advised to check at the websites of the MOH and CRC.

A special website is also set up for this where you may post questions and also check for others comments and experience. Do post your experience there too to share with others. You may comment on your experience, on the materials that you use or may need, feedback or questions from your audience and how you handle them. (http://sites.google.com/site/h1n1resources/)

All MPS branch committees are also urged to encourage the pharmacists in your area to take part and can organize meetings to encourage each other.

Pharmacy schools too can pitch in by encouraging the students to hold forums within the campus to speak to students of other faculties.


We hope you can also note or document the activities that you do, eg name of group/organization that you spoke to, number of people who attended, date and time. This is for MPS to collate for statistics purposes. We want to be seen reaching out to as many people as possible and documented statistics will be useful to report to MoH of our activities, and also to document for future references.

Prepared by:
Ms Lee Yee Lan
MPS - Community Pharmacy Chapter