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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Michael D. Hogue, PharmD¹, Roger D. Lander, PharmD, BCPS¹, Heather B. Hogue, PharmD², Kirk Avent, MD³, and Charles D. Sands III, PharmD¹. (1) McWhorter School of Pharmacy, Samford University, 800 Lakeshore Drive, Birmingham, AL 35229, 205-726-4472, mdhogue@samford.edu, (2) Jefferson Health Systems Pharmacies, 1400 6th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233, (3) Disease Control, Jefferson County Department of Health, 1400 6th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233

Objective: To reflect on the important role pharmacists played in responding to the hurricane Katrina disaster. Description: In the days before hurricane Katrina struck, public health and emergency management officials in Jefferson County (Birmingham), Alabama began to prepare for an expected influx of evacuees. The director of pharmacy for the Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH) sat in on these early meetings for the purpose of basic information gathering. The county did not have a pharmacy-related disaster plan or a specified role for pharmacists in natural disaster response. After the hurricane made landfall, the director, along with two pharmacist faculty members of the McWhorter School of Pharmacy at Samford University (MSOP) began to assess the impact of the influx of evacuees on the provision of pharmacy services at local community pharmacies and on the emergency departments (EDs) of local hospitals. It was quickly determined that a significant request and healthcare need was for prescription refills. The pharmacy team and the director of disease control for JCDH met to determine a course of action which would allow for evacuees to receive refills of their maintenance medications without placing further strain on the physician and emergency resources of the county. The result was the issuance of a protocol by the county's health officer allowing individuals with a doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) degree who were employed by either JCDH or the MSOP to use his or her professional judgment to issue 30-day prescriptions for refills of non-narcotic medications for evacuees under the name of the health officer. Coordinated by the JCDH pharmacy director and two MSOP faculty members, 23 volunteer pharmacists were dispatched over a 4 week time frame to evacuee shelters. Conclusions: The pharmacists were able to assist hundreds of evacuees with their need for prescription medications. Beyond issuing prescriptions, the pharmacists established a prescription relief fund at two local pharmacies whereby evacuees could receive their medications for free, referred patients to chain pharmacies providing free medications, triaged patients with injuries or illnesses requiring further medical care, and consulted with volunteer physicians working in the shelters. At one shelter, pharmacists were the only healthcare professionals available. The health officer later wrote, “[This involvement] shows a particularly unique interaction between a local public health and a pharmacy program in response to an unanticipated but extremely important need.” We believe that we have created a model for pharmacist involvement in future disaster situations.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the role of pharmacists in responding to natural disasters.
• Identify opportunities for public health departments to partner with schools and colleges of pharmacy for disaster preparedness and response.
• List the essential components of an emergency refill protocol between a physician/health officer and pharmacist.

Keywords: Pharmacies, Disasters

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation