INTRODUCTION

The implementation of telepharmacy models began in early 2000s in United States, Australia, and Canada with the aim of providing telehealth services to patients situated at remote locations (Clifton et al., 2003; McDonald, 2009; Nissen and Tett, 2003). Telepharmacy, which falls under the telemedicine umbrella, refers to the provision of pharmaceutical care services through information and communication technologies to the patients in remote areas without direct contact with the pharmacist (Alexander et al., 2017). Over the years, telepharmacy has been useful in delivering medication-use activities when pharmacists may not be present physically or in situations where there may be limitations of pharmacy resources (Baldoni et al., 2019). Furthermore, it provides an alternative for delivering care services in specialty areas where staffing is limited (Le et al., 2020; Peterson and Anderson, 2004; Poulson et al., 2010; Win, 2017).

Adoption of telepharmacy services has proved beneficial in many aspects. It has improved accessibility of pharmaceutical care services to patients in rural and far-flung areas (Kimber and Peterson, 2006). It has reduced cost and saved time for the patients (Littauer et al., 2017; Traynor, 2013). Furthermore, telepharmacy improved medication adherence (Fensterheim et al., 2015) among patients by enhancing their trust and contentment with the provided services. Telepharmacy has expanded the role of pharmacists by providing an ideal medium for improving the medication management in patients with chronic diseases (Margolis et al., 2013; McFarland et al., 2012), for identifying and resolving the drug-related problems (McNamara et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2021), for medication monitoring and optimization (Mohiuddin et al., 2021; Surapat et al., 2021), for efficient patient education with enhanced privacy (Hudd and Tataronis, 2011; Lam and Rose, 2009), for adverse drug reaction monitoring (Bindler, 2020; Margusino-Framiñán et al., 2020), and for dealing the social determinants of health (Livet et al., 2021).

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way how information technology is utilized in healthcare services (Budd et al., 2020). During the ongoing pandemic, telepharmacy received increased attention and being widely employed all around the world (Killeen et al., 2020). It has emerged as a viable substitute for the provision of face-to-face pharmaceutical care services during the pandemic, especially at a time when people are required to practice social distancing and limit the in-person visits to the healthcare facilities (Ameri et al., 2020; Unni et al., 2021). Therefore, this systematic scoping review aimed at summarizing the expanding role of telepharmacy services in the pandemic era which emerged as a useful tool in delivering the best telehealth services to patients and rebooted the role of clinical and community pharmacists in healthcare system.

Unni et al. (2021) conducted a similar scoping review of telepharmacy during COVID-19. However, their literature search was limited to only two databases with different study inclusion criteria. This systematic review employed a comprehensive search of four large databases and included all types of studies that reported implementation of telepharmacy services since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic.

The objectives of this systematic review were to:

1. Identify the different types of studies that reported implementation of telepharmacy services during the COVID-19.
2. Characterize the pharmaceutical care services provided through telepharmacy during COVID-19.
3. Recognize the different means and tools employed for telepharmacy.
4. Examine the impact or outcomes of telepharmacy services on the study populations.

INTRODUCTION

The implementation of telepharmacy models began in early 2000s in United States, Australia, and Canada with the aim of providing telehealth services to patients situated at remote locations (Clifton et al., 2003; McDonald, 2009; Nissen and Tett, 2003). Telepharmacy, which falls under the telemedicine umbrella, refers to the provision of pharmaceutical care services through information and communication technologies to the patients in remote areas without direct contact with the pharmacist (Alexander et al., 2017). Over the years, telepharmacy has been useful in delivering medication-use activities when pharmacists may not be present physically or in situations where there may be limitations of pharmacy resources (Baldoni et al., 2019). Furthermore, it provides an alternative for delivering care services in specialty areas where staffing is limited (Le et al., 2020; Peterson and Anderson, 2004; Poulson et al., 2010; Win, 2017).

Adoption of telepharmacy services has proved beneficial in many aspects. It has improved accessibility of pharmaceutical care services to patients in rural and far-flung areas (Kimber and Peterson, 2006). It has reduced cost and saved time for the patients (Littauer et al., 2017; Traynor, 2013). Furthermore, telepharmacy improved medication adherence (Fensterheim et al., 2015) among patients by enhancing their trust and contentment with the provided services. Telepharmacy has expanded the role of pharmacists by providing an ideal medium for improving the medication management in patients with chronic diseases (Margolis et al., 2013; McFarland et al., 2012), for identifying and resolving the drug-related problems (McNamara et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2021), for medication monitoring and optimization (Mohiuddin et al., 2021; Surapat et al., 2021), for efficient patient education with enhanced privacy (Hudd and Tataronis, 2011; Lam and Rose, 2009), for adverse drug reaction monitoring (Bindler, 2020; Margusino-Framiñán et al., 2020), and for dealing the social determinants of health (Livet et al., 2021).

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way how information technology is utilized in healthcare services (Budd et al., 2020). During the ongoing pandemic, telepharmacy received increased attention and being widely employed all around the world (Killeen et al., 2020). It has emerged as a viable substitute for the provision of face-to-face pharmaceutical care services during the pandemic, especially at a time when people are required to practice social distancing and limit the in-person visits to the healthcare facilities (Ameri et al., 2020; Unni et al., 2021). Therefore, this systematic scoping review aimed at summarizing the expanding role of telepharmacy services in the pandemic era which emerged as a useful tool in delivering the best telehealth services to patients and rebooted the role of clinical and community pharmacists in healthcare system.

Unni et al. (2021) conducted a similar scoping review of telepharmacy during COVID-19. However, their literature search was limited to only two databases with different study inclusion criteria. This systematic review employed a comprehensive search of four large databases and included all types of studies that reported implementation of telepharmacy services since the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic.

The objectives of this systematic review were to:

1. Identify the different types of studies that reported implementation of telepharmacy services during the COVID-19.
2. Characterize the pharmaceutical care services provided through telepharmacy during COVID-19.
3. Recognize the different means and tools employed for telepharmacy.
4. Examine the impact or outcomes of telepharmacy services on the study populations.