The role of pharmacists and pharmacies in maintaining the continuity of health care has become even more important in the context of contemporary security challenges including cyberattacks or hybrid warfare. Therefore, in cooperation with the Latvian Pharmacists Association, the Resilience of Health Care Systems think tank has prepared a unique handbookAction in the Event of a National Emergency, which was launched on 6 February, offering guidelines and recommendations to pharmacists about what to do in crisis situations.

The goal of the compact handbook is to educate pharmacists about contemporary threats, and to recommend the most effective approaches for overcoming them. The publication is comprised of two parts: the first part describes operational continuity planning in a crisis situation, whereas the second part draws attention to the specifics of a state of emergency, military threat or active warfare. The handbook is accompanied by teaching materials adapted to the sector’s requirements, and expanded for organising training sessions for pharmacists and pharmacy managers.

The handbook was created by health care, security and defence sector specialists:

  • Text author: RSU researcher and defence sector expert Vitālijs Rakstiņš;
  • Content editors: think tank experts – Pharmaceutical Care Association of Latvia CEO Kristīne Jučkoviča, LU Associated Professor Zane Dzirkale and defence sector specialist Biruta Kleina;
  • Project manager: strategic communication expert Sandra Zilberta.

The handbook is available to pharmacists and pharmacy managers, who take part in resilience training organised by the think tank in cooperation with the Latvian Pharmacists Society. Interested persons should contact the organisers at: hello@healthresilience.eu.

This project has been organised in cooperation with the Association of Latvian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, the Pharmacists’ Society of Latvia and Pharmaceutical Care Association of Latvia.