Challenging times call for heroic pharmacists

Abstract

October is American Pharmacists Month, a time to recognize pharmacists’ contributions to patient care and to their communities. With the COVID-19 pandemic persisting and influenza season quickly approaching, 2020 has been a year that has required each of us to contribute more than usual, both professionally and personally. During times of health care crises such as these, it is expected that pharmacists will be asked to work longer and harder. But in 2020, we have done so much more than that. This month's Pharmacy Today cover story (page 26) tells the amazing stories of pharmacy heroes. Laura Broughton, PharmD, describes her efforts leading one of the first pharmacist-run drive-through COVID-19 testing sites in Kentucky as the best thing about her pandemic experience. She hopes that one day her daughter will know that when faced with challenges, Broughton, “didn’t just walk toward the fire, but she blazed the trail.” Washington, DC pharmacist Anthony Ramdass is making a difference with a patient-centered approach to care, modeled on his father's pharmacy practice that he witnessed growing up in rural British Guiana. Tom DePietro, PharmD, owner of DePietro's Pharmacy in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, helped connect with patients in a positive way during the pandemic by creating a patient newsletter, hosting special events in the pharmacy, and so much more. Also in this issue, you'll find updates on home testing and monitoring devices (page 17), cinnamon for diabetes (page 18), and new guideline recommendations on varenicline for smoking cessation (page 22). You can catch up on your CPE and learn how to combat stigma often associated with medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder with this month's article (page 52). It is pharmacists’ personal contributions that stand out, and I am proud to be able to recognize our pharmacy heroes during American Pharmacists Month. Never before have we had more to be thankful for in our pharmacists than we do in 2020.