Telepharmacy knowledge, attitude and practice among Egyptian pharmacists amid the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Introduction: Telepharmacy has garnered increased global attention due to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on direct access to pharmacy services. There is little information available in Egypt about pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes, and scope of telepharmacy practice. Research Question or Hypothesis: What is the existing telepharmacy knowledge, and what are pharmacists' attitudes and current practices in this area? Study Design: Cross-sectional quantitative survey study. Methods: A 21-item survey was developed, validated by a panel of five experts (S-CVI/Ave = 0.93). The survey has four sections to collect data on participants' demographics, knowledge, attitude, and practice of telepharmacy. The data were collected between March and June 2021 through online survey distribution to Egyptian pharmacists in ambulatory care settings. SPSS version 27 was used for descriptive and inferential statistics (univariate and multivariate logistic regression). A p-value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 190 complete responses were received (50% response rate). Participants were 70% females, 93 % public university graduates, 50% in the age between 31-40, and 64% have over ten years of experience. Approximately 40% were unfamiliar with the term telepharmacy. However, the majority of participants (72%) expressed an interest in the telepharmacy certification program if offered in Egypt. Regarding practice, consultation and counseling were the most reported services (76%), and 70% of participants used a smartphone as their main tool. Female gender (OR=3.5, p=0.003) and prior knowledge of telepharmacy (OR=1.9, p=0.045) were significantly associated with the expansion of telepharmacy in response to the pandemic. Lack of professional training, ethical concerns, and a formal practice framework were reported as major barriers to telepharmacy practice. Conclusion: While a considerable proportion of the participants were unfamiliar with telepharmacy as a term, they had a positive attitude towards the potential opportunities of telepharmacy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing the reported barriers will be critical to telepharmacy services being fully integrated in Egypt