PHARMACISTS HAVE RESOURCE FOR PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS

If the United States is hit with pandemicinfluenza, pharmacists will be ready.Pharmacy organizations have partneredto create ?A Pharmacist?s Guide toPandemic Preparedness.?

The guide explains how pharmaciescan help raise awareness about a pandemicand how planning by pharmacistsand others can greatly reduce the impactof the disease. The resource advises thatpharmacists should learn about governmentpreparedness and response plans;understand resources available in theirhealth systems, corporations, and community;and actively participate in planningmeetings dealing with pandemics.

The document also recommends thatpharmacists take part in immunizationtrainingopportunities and create a planto maintain a week?s supply of prescriptiondrugs and consumable supplies. Theguide?s ?Pandemic Flu PharmacyChecklist? will help pharmacists determinewhat supplies are needed forimmunizations.

The American Pharmacists Association,the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and the National Associationof Chain Drug Stores Foundationcollaborated on the guide. Theguide is available on the associations?Web sites. For a related article, go towww.pharmacytimes.com/pandemic.