Page 65 - Retail Pharmacy Magazine October 2020

HEALTH BONES AND JOINTS 63 ARTHRITIS AND THE PANDEMIC: PROS AND CONS One in six people in Australia suffers from arthritis, or to put it differently, approximately 3.9 million people. Arthritis Australia is pulling out all the stops to help people suffering from the condition to live in the best way they possibly can during the pandemic. TBy Nerine Zoio. he Covid-19 era has brought positives and negatives for people living with arthritis, with the benefits of developments such as funded telehealth sessions and customised websites offset by the impact of opioid restrictions, drug shortages and persisting myths around the chronic disabling condition. Rheumatoid arthritis patients at times struggled for access to the anti-rheumatic drug hydroxychloroquine with so many people striving to get their hands on the drug as a touted potential safeguard against the coronavirus. However, government interventions and the establishment of a customised website have proven advantageous for those suffering from the condition, as well as telehealth services that have worked well for arthritis patients. As to osteoarthritis, the message that exercise and lifestyle interventions are the best deterrents still needs to be loudly proclaimed. Arthritis Australia National Policy and Government Relations Manager Franca Marine tells Retail Pharmacy that hydroxychloroquine aroused much interest as a possible treatment or preventive therapy for coronavirus. Earlier in the year during the first lockdown, this resulted in a “huge surge” in demand for the drug accompanied by “increased prescribing and stockpiling” of it. “As a consequence, there were supply TO PAGE 64 RETAIL PHARMACY • OCT 2020