THE UPSURGE IN ILLEGAL PHARMACIES AMID COVID-19: HOW BECOMING BOARD CERTIFIED IN MEDICAL AFFAIRS (BCMAS) PROVIDES A WAY-FORWARD

The primary jobs of a pharmacist are to support and propel the progressions being made in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic to guarantee that patients have increasingly consistent and easy access to medication. Yet, the current COVID-19 pandemic is primarily affecting people with opioid use disorders.

In the midst of corona-induced crisis, the current guidelines that exist in the substance use treatment world strengthen the barriers that as of now exist for patients as a result of over-regulation and strategies in the U.S. Notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers have been tested to address the necessities of patients with narcotic use disorder with regards to long-standing principles and guidelines around drugs, for example, methadone and buprenorphine.

An extra zone of concern is the means by which to operationalize physical/social distancing when face-to-face treatment is a prevailing methodology, and other common care groups are such a significant piece of recuperation support. Indeed, even before March 12, 2020, when the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 global outbreak, pharmacies were requiring the evacuation of barriers to treatment for people with substance use disorder.

While a few barriers incidentally were removed, there are chances to exhibit the effects of telehealth for starting and checking patients on buprenorphine, the adaptabilities for bringing home drug for narcotic use disorder treatment, and the extended access to virtual care groups through online meetings.

However, these developments will be totally lacking to think about the individuals with narcotic use issues who are in treatment, not to mention those needing and who will search out treatment in the coming months as there is a shift in sedate markets and individuals will start to encounter withdrawal symptoms.

By and by, projections for a COVID-19 immunization are in any event 12–18 months into the future; we have just been able to create a single viable screening test for coronavirus till now. The social distancing technique is likely the best intervention technique for the present moment (hardly for few months) just as intermittently in the longer term (for few years), with lockdowns to happen on-spot when an outbreak is observed across the nation.

In light of what is known today, the study of disease transmission of COVID-19 recommends that adjustments in guidelines and the adaptability managed so far during this general healthcare crisis should be made perpetual, yet further developments are promptly essential. On the other hand, there has been a surge in the fraudulent pharmacies amid COVID-19, taking advantage of the vulnerable patients.

In light of the ascent of these false online drug stores, regulators have called for help from the private sector, including web intermediaries that have been effective in closing down fake pharmacies selling fake drugs, immunization, and test kits etc. There is an immense need for long haul approaches to battle rogue web-based drug stores, including promptly bolting and suspending domain names occupied with illicit business exercises. Moreover, without noteworthy deliberate activity, there is a need to underpin enactment that would require to approve domain name enrolment data and bolt and suspend any pharmacy name that is utilized for healthcare scams and comparable illicit movement.

All in all, the issue has raised a challenge for the government to combat yet, another outbreak of fake pharmacies dealing in counterfeit drugs and gambling with the precious lives of patients specifically for opioid use disorder patients. The opioid crisis “is really the tip of the iceberg for the pharmaceutical industry,” says d Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA) Chairman and CEO William Soliman. “We need to look at some of the industry practices… that caused in part this epidemic,” he added. For this concern, ACMA has taken a step to fix the issue of illegal pharmacies.

ACMA offers a pharmaceutical representative credential and a board-certified medical affairs specialist program, which is translated into more than ten different languages and includes 20 different modules. ACMA stresses its independence and includes New York University’s School of Medicine and Rutgers Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences as partners.

ACMA says there are approximately 100,000 pharmaceutical sales reps and an estimated 50,000 medical affairs professionals in the U.S. alone. Only, if we could strengthen the professional development of pharmaceutical representatives and bolster the registration process for pharmacies, with the aid of BCMAS program provided by ACMA, we can halt the growth of illegal pharmacies.