Table 1.

Summary of findings of studies on pharmacy measures and interventions on COVID-19 provided in Europe.

First author (month yr) [REF]	Objective	Country of origin	Study design	Pharmacy Interventions on COVID-19 provided	Other Findings
Merks P (June 2020)31	To review the legal extension of the role of pharmacists in light of the COVID-19 pandemic	PL	Review	AT: e-prescribing, relaxation of regulations on dispensing controlled medicines; BE: preparing alcohol, exclusive right to sell PPE, masks, and alcohol gel. HR: Substitution of medicine in short supply, home delivery to vulnerable patients, increased quantity of hemophilia medication dispensed. CZ: Compounding antiseptic solutions, hand sanitizers, alcoholic gels, renewal of chronic treatment, protocol for reporting domestic violence. DE: preparation of alcoholic gel. IT: Administration of oxygen to patients, e-prescribing, home delivery to vulnerable patients, preparation of disinfectants. NL: video, telephone, email consultations, protocol for reporting domestic violence, preparation of disinfectant. PL: preparation of alcohol sanitizers, home delivery of medical devices, some prescribing authority. PT: Extension of emergency medicine delivery line to the whole country. ES: Home delivery to vulnerable and affected patients, dispensing hospital medicines in pharmacies. UK: extension of MAS and access to Emergency Care Summary Data, right to supply certain controlled drugs without prescription, home delivery to self-isolating patients	Several European countries adopted new legal solutions to mitigate drug shortages. Source of funding: Polish Pharmaceutical Group
Hoti K (June 2020)32	To explore the experiences of community pharmacists in relation to provision of community pharmacy services during COVID-19 pandemic	XK	Cross-sectional	1) Informing patients on medication currently being discussed for COVID-19. 2) monitoring patients for non-COVID health conditions. 3) Patient information on preventive measures. 4) Protocols in place for disinfection of surfaces. 5) Use of disposable masks by staff. 6) Use of PPE by staff. 7) Queue management. 8) Barriers at counters. 9) Increased demand of medication.	Negative: 1) Price increases; 2) Patient panic, stockpiling; 3) Fear of getting infected; 4) Frequent pharmacy inspections; 5) Financial impact; 6) Extended working hours. Positive: 1) Moral, sense of duty; 2) Alignment with other providers Source of funding: NR
Zaidi STR (July 2020)33	To understand the protective practices and well-being of pharmacists, and the delivery of pharmacy services during the COVID 19 pandemic.	UK	Cross-sectional	1) Increased number of patients. 2) Patient information on potential medicines for COVID-19. 3) Pharmacy premises reorganization. 4) Use of mask or PPE by pharmacy staff. 5) Limiting quantity dispensed. 6) Stock management. 7) Symptom-based referral pathway for suspected cases. 8) Dealing with significant or critical drug shortages. 9) Dealing with inappropriate behavior from patients or carers	Anxiety issues reported by pharmacy staff Source of funding: NR
Koster E (July 2020)35	To describe the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on the provision of pharmaceutical care in the Netherlands.	NL	Cross-sectional	Patient information and education on preventive measures; Protocols in place for disinfection of pharmacy surfaces; use of disposable masks; barriers at counters; temporary suspension of pharmacy services; queue management; business continuity plan; stock and supply of essential medicines; stock and supply of hand sanitizers; increased demand to repeat dispensing; dealing with shortages, home delivery	Only a small number of pharmacies took part in pharmacotherapy consultation groups (regular meetings between groups of GPs and pharmacists to improve prescribing quality) or used video Source of funding: No funding
Cerbin-Koczorowska M (Sept 2020)34	To evaluate the preparedness of Polish pharmacy employees for patient education on the new threat	PL	Cross-sectional (mystery shopper)	Most pharmacists and staff provided patients with evidence-based recommendation on prevention, symptoms, and management of SARS-CoV-2	Source of funding: Poznan University of Medical Sciences
Lim RHM (Oct 2020)36	To explore the experiences of the community pharmacy team in supporting people with dementia and their family carers with the management of medications during the COVID-19 pandemic	UK	Cross-sectional (qualitative)	Temporary suspension of dementia patient care face-to-face services NMS and MUR but pharmacy teams drew extensively from internal (pharmacy/personal) and external (government) resources and negotiated professional decision-making and personal values to provide essential medication services to people with dementia.	Source of funding: Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme, University of Reading and Brian Revell Memorial Fund
Giua C (Jan 2021)37	To describe procedures and critical logistical-organizational issues encountered by Italian community pharmacists, and to collect the main requests reported by patients to pharmacists	IT	Cross-sectional	The most frequently adopted measures were the use of gloves, surgical masks, and protective barriers at the drug counter. Most implemented services: booking of prescriptions, delivery of medications and implementation of phone consultations. In Red Zones (most affected), there was a higher use of FFP2 and FFP3 masks by pharmacists, home-delivery of medicines, and use of alcohol sanitizers prior to entering pharmacies.	Source of funding: No funding
Novak H (Mar 2021)38	To explore and compare community pharmacists' roles, practices, implemented safety measures, and psychological toll in Croatia and Serbia during the COVID-19 pandemic.	HR and RS	Cross-sectional	Patient information and education; use of disposable masks; barriers at counters; business continuity plan; stock and supply of hand sanitizers; quantity limits for patient for the supply of individual medicines; dealing with the supply of medicines shortages; patient care services in place. The study identified new pharmacists' roles: manufacturing hand sanitizers, online patient counseling, and home delivery of medicines. Most pharmacists continued to manage chronic diseases and patient consultations in addition to their new roles.	This study also assessed psychological status of pharmacists: reports of prolonged stressful situations and increased workloads. Source of funding: NR
Jordan D (Feb 2021)39	To describe how pharmacy has stepped up during the COVID-19 crisis by giving examples from several countries	FIP	Descriptive	Home delivery of medications; increased changes to repeat dispensing; vaccination; testing	Source of funding: No funding

PPE: Personal Protective Equipment; MAS: Minor Ailment Services; GP: General Practitioner; NMS: New Medicines Service; MUR: Medication Use Review; NR: Not Reported.

AT: Austria; BE: Belgium; CZ: Czech Republic; DE: Germany; ES: Spain; HR: Croatia; IT: Italy; NL: The Netherlands; PL: Poland; PT: Portugal; RS: Serbia; UK: United Kingdom; XK: Kosovo.