Beyond COVID-19. Design of a new model of shared services between community pharmacies and primary health care

Introduction Community pharmacies play a key role in response to COVID-19 and especially in the control of chronic diseases beyond the pandemic Objective To design a new model of health assistance focused on frailty prevention and the self-care promotion among older adults, using share care services between the community pharmacy and the primary healthcare Method We conducted a qualitative study of action research using methods as actor mapping, segment profile, discussion groups, in-depth interviews and creative design sessions Using those techniques during all the design stages allowed us to get an effective participation of older adults and professionals Results Common communications circuits for the new services, new professional roles and shared action protocols were created Furthermore, we designed early frailty detection, medication review associated with fall risk, assessment and intervention for adherence to new medications, vital sign checking and hypertension, diabetes and COPD therapeutic reinforcement services This model provides two-way communication systems with the primary health care and recognizes the community pharmacy functions in the scope of self-care promotion and chronic pathology and medication self-management Conclusions It is highlighted the importance of creating a more open ecosystem within the community The feedback obtained will allow to design organizational innovations This has to be done taking advantage of the community pharmacies proximity and 402 capillarity in the territory, as well as the new incorporation of the omni-channel care Besides, cooperative design techniques have proved to be an encouragement for the participation of the involved agents, increasing their contribution and potential impact on the results