Pharmacies are ready to vaccinate the population, but an unexpected obstacle has arisen

The country’s pharmacies were preparing intensively for this: they set up vaccination rooms, received hygiene passports, and the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences and Vilnius University prepared pharmacists with advanced practice who could also vaccinate people who they went to pharmacies.

Unfortunately, for the moment, patients will have to wait for the opportunity to get vaccinated at the pharmacy, as an unexpected hurdle has arisen: the Registration Center has not yet prepared an electronic health platform where pharmacists must view patient information and mark vaccines. .

“All the pharmacies have done everything possible to vaccinate patients: they have set up cabinets, they have brought together pharmacists who want to learn how to vaccinate, the university pharmacists have taken a course on this and have gained practice, others are still waiting their turn .

Pharmacies have submitted documents for hygiene passports issued by the National Center for Public Health and licenses for advanced practice pharmacists.

We really hoped to start in early March: at first there would be fewer pharmacies, then others would start. But more recently, we learned that this could not be done because the Registration Center has not introduced a new feature in eHealth so that the pharmacist who vaccinates a patient can log in and view certain information about the patient, as well as the possibility to enter information for that particular patient, a specific vaccine has been injected, “Kristina Nemaniūtė-Gagė, president of the Lithuanian Pharmacy Association, told the Delfi portal.

The interlocutor said that pharmacies did not even have access to the training environment so pharmacists could be trained in how to collect data without interruption and it is unclear when these connections will be resolved.

Spokesmen interviewed confirmed that they had done everything possible to get their pharmacists to start vaccinating patients.

“The BENU pharmacy network is now ready to provide the vaccination service, but we have to wait until the e-health system is ready so that the pharmacies can provide information on the service provided and the final permits from state institutions. For this reason, we will have to wait a bit before starting to provide vaccination services in seven of our pharmacies: three in Vilnius, two in Kaunas, one in Klaipeda and one in Pasvalys.

All of them already have separate vaccination rooms in accordance with up-to-date legislation and hygiene standards. We provide rooms that meet the requirements of the area, provided adequate ventilation, hot and cold water supply, special functional chairs for patients, refrigerators to store vaccines, etc.

In addition, facilities are currently being installed in six more BENU pharmacies and we hope that in March or early April we will be able to offer vaccination services in Alytus, Kaunas, Šiauliai and three other pharmacies in Vilnius ”, said Rasa Montvilė, General Director of BENU Pharmacy Lithuania .

According to Delfi’s interlocutor, 40 pharmacists in this network are prepared to provide the vaccination service, who have taken in-service training courses for the advanced practice pharmacist license and passed the practice and theory exams. They have deepened medical knowledge on disease prevention and control, vaccination techniques, immunity development, possible side effects, first aid, vaccine storage rules, etc.

Pharmacists in the Eurovaistinė network are also fully prepared to vaccinate clients.

“Our pharmacists have already completed additional studies and will be able to get vaccinated. At Eurovaistinė, we are still awaiting approval of the documents so that we can accept the first patients in our wellness clinics,” said Laura Bielskė, Eurovaistinė communication director.

The pharmacy chain is expected to open the first of eight planned vaccination sites in early March.

Žiedūnė Juškytė, a communication project manager for the Camelia pharmacy chain, said he planned to gradually inject his pharmacists into the patient.

“In the first stage, we are preparing to vaccinate patients in four Camelia pharmacies. Offices in Vilnius, Vikingi str. 3, PC Nordika and Šiauliai, Tilžės str. 109, Sauliestas shopping center miestas already has hygienic permits-passports, which confirm that this place meets the requirements of the law and can safely vaccinate patients. Currently, the permits-licenses for vaccination offices located in Camelia pharmacies in Kaunas, Laisvės al. 55 and in Klaipeda, Vingio str. 6. In addition, in the next stages, it is planned to provide the vaccination service in other Camelia pharmacies, and new offices are currently being installed.

Our pharmacists have already completed special trainings for the professional qualification of an advanced pharmacist, organized by the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences and Vilnius University. We are currently waiting for the specialists to obtain the license to confirm that they can vaccinate the patients.

With the permits for the hygiene passports of the vaccination offices and the licenses obtained by the employees, it will be possible to submit documents to the State Service for Accreditation of Health Care Activities to obtain a license from a personal health care institution.

We will be able to start vaccinating patients as soon as possible in Vilnius and Šiauliai, when we will be able to start vaccination will depend on when the pharmacists receive the licenses and when these pharmacies will receive a personal healthcare license. The issuance of this document can take up to 30 days, we hope that this process does not delay and we can vaccinate the patients soon ”, Ž. Plans shared with the Delfi portal. Juškytė.

Irena Tėvelienė, marketing manager of Gintarinės vaistinė, said that currently 23 pharmacists from the pharmacy chain have completed courses, received licenses and a similar number is planned in the future.

“The primary objective is that patients from all regions of the country can go to a pharmacy in their area and get vaccinated to avoid having to travel to larger cities, which guarantees greater accessibility for patients. At first, we are strategically placing it in all counties, ”said I. Tėvelienė.

So why, despite the willingness of pharmacists to vaccinate patients, their connection to the eHealth system remains unresolved?

The spokesperson for the Mindaugas Samkus Registry Center said that the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of data on pharmacies and pharmacists who will be able to vaccinate patients are getting on the right foot.

Recently, the Registry Center’s top priority has been given to the implementation of one of the tasks assigned to the manager of the e-health system – the Ministry of Health – related to the management of the COVID-19 pandemic and the program of vaccination. . Among the tasks already implemented is the improvement of vaccination functionality by speeding up email. prepare and sign documents for health professionals, adapt the patient pre-registration system to the tasks of the vaccination program, allow priority groups to be vaccinated mainly with the COVID-19 vaccine and provide the interested authorities with operational data on the pandemic of coronavirus.

In the current situation, human resources and external resources are currently focused on the implementation of the priorities of the eHealth system administrator. As a result, the deadline for adapting the system to vaccination in pharmacies has been slightly delayed.

In addition, we have not yet received data from the State Accreditation Service for Health Activities, which handles the licensing of pharmacists for extended practice, in pharmacies or their subdivisions that would be granted licenses of personal health care institutions or supplements for health services. vaccination according to your physical address. An appropriate specialist, in this case an advanced pharmacist, is required to issue these licenses.

As far as we know, the licensing of these professionals will begin next week. Once the licenses are issued, it will be possible to issue personal health care licenses to the pharmacy, which will be able to provide vaccination services based on a certain physical address. It is planned that all the necessary data will be received and the necessary work will be done within the next month and such an opportunity will appear at the end of March, – promised M. Samkus, adding: – We remind you that the, making decisions related to the creation, development , liquidation, modernization, maintenance, system administration. The Registry Center is the main administrator of the system, which presents proposals on system development projects to the system operator and implements them ”.