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The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has been on the lookout for innovative ideas and suggestions that could transform the future of pharmacy practice in England over the next decade. The society's new project with the King's Fund to transform the future of pharmacy practice in England is at a consultation phase, seeking views and opinions of pharmacy teams from all areas of practice including primary, secondary, social and community care to ensure that the system gets the best out of pharmacy and the public receives seamless, joined-up care. "We want to build a vision that sets out the role of and value of pharmacists and pharmacy teams working across systems, providing patient care and NHS services," said RPS in a statement. "Transforming the future of pharmacy practice recognises the urgent need to build on new ways of working established across health and care systems during the pandemic to meet the increasingly complex health needs of people and improve patient outcomes."

Community pharmacies must be involved in future planning for public health emergencies, especially in cases where a quick response is needed such as the Covid-19 pandemic, a European-wide research has recommended. The project, co-led by the University of Huddersfield professor Zaheer-Ud-Din Babar in medicines and healthcare, focuses on how community pharmacies dealt with the pandemic, covering 31 pharmacy interventions on Covid-19 in 32 countries in Europe. The interventions include prevention, response, and recovery measures. It also covers improved access to medicines, expanded powers granted to pharmacies, rapid antigen testing, along with Covid-19 vaccination. Community pharmacists in the US, Canada, and Australia have been engaged in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response strategic guidance after the 2009 flu pandemic. The aim of the research is to map the current reported practice and trends and review the pharmacies' intervention in Europe.