Buying an air purifier for pharmacies

Being in direct contact with ill patients puts chemists at high risk of contracting and spreading disease. This was more true than ever during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. As frontline healthcare personnel, pharmacists served a crucial role in helping people recover from the virus. Chemists continue to play an essential role in helping people recover from illness, but they experience daily exposure to airborne diseases. Can an air purifier reduce airborne disease in a pharmacy, keeping customers and staff safe? Read on to learn more.

Indoor air quality (IAQ) in pharmacies

On a global scale, there are approximately 4 million registered pharmacists, 2.8 million of whom are actively practising. It is estimated that around 75% of these chemists work in community pharmacy. This means that these pharmacists work directly with patients seeking medical treatment and requiring care. The rest accounts for 13% of chemists working in hospital pharmacies and 12% in other areas¹.

Indoor air pollution in pharmacies

The vast majority of practising pharmacists put themselves at risk of cross-contamination and infection in pharmacies on a daily basis. Indoor air quality is particularly concerning for chemists working in pharmacies. These pharmacists are exposed to germs from ill visitors in pharmacies (especially airborne bacteria and viruses). Additionally, community pharmacies and hospitals are typically located in urban areas that are easily accessible, close to roads and other types of industry. This means that pharmacies experience high levels of air pollution including:

• Fine and ultrafine particulate matter
• Allergens (pollen, dust generated from road use)
• Fumes
• Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• Other outdoor air pollutants

Outdoor air pollutants can easily gain entry into pharmacies when customers or staff open and close entry doors. Many professional buildings have an airtight design to optimise energy efficiency, making it impossible for these pollutants to escape. Pollutant concentration then builds as more pollutants enter the space. This is why many indoor spaces suffer from poor air quality and are often 2 to 5 times more polluted than outdoor spaces. Occupants can even fall ill from poor air quality due to Sick Building Syndrome.

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COVID-19 impact on pharmacies

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, 76% of pharmacists were concerned over the level of pharmaceutical care provided to vulnerable patients in pharmacies2. Providing sufficient customer care during the pandemic was a challenge, indicating that patients did not always get the care they needed.

Furthermore, only 27% of chemists surveyed at that time stated that it was possible to keep sufficient social distancing measures between other pharmacy team members². Hiring and retaining pharmaceutical staff during the pandemic was already a difficult task, but keeping them healthy was even more challenging.

Social distancing practices are not easy to uphold as a pharmacist. On average, a pharmacist interacts with a minimum of 500 people per day³. A high rate of interaction with individuals that are ill puts a chemist at significant risk of contamination. Additionally, pharmacies are generally small spaces with several people waiting at any given time. This makes it even more difficult to implement social distancing procedures.

Another study performed in the Middle East found that community chemists were at greater risk of infection of COVID-19 due to occupational factors and regular exposure. The following chart shows the steps taken by pharmacists surveyed in this study who experienced COVID-19 symptoms: 

Source ⁴

As demonstrated above, 10.9% of pharmacists continued to work despite experiencing COVID-19 symptoms⁴. This behaviour applies to other illnesses as well, a practice that could put other pharmacy employees at risk as well as pharmacy patient visitors (some who may be particularly vulnerable).

How does an air purifier for pharmacies work?

An air purifier is a device designed to purify your indoor air. Using a powerful fan, it pulls polluted air into the device, treats the air using one or more air purification technologies, then recirculates the air back into your indoor space.

High-quality air purifiers can contain a variety of technology types that are used to combat different types of indoor air pollutants. Some of the most common technology types you may find on today’s market include:

• Pre-filters
• Medical-grade HEPA-certified filters
• Activated carbon filters
• Ionisation (negative ions)
• Photocatalysis
• Ultraviolet (UVC) sterilisation

Certain models of air purifiers, like Eoleaf’s, come equipped with all of the above technology types in one, convenient device! Eoleaf’s devices even include two additional technology types in addition to those mentioned above: a bamboo antibacterial filter and a lysozyme/silver ion treatment. Our proprietary technology ensures that all pollutants, regardless of size and source, are removed from your breathing air. This guarantees improved indoor air quality and that employees and customers are kept safe from the dangers of indoor air pollution.

The benefits of an air purifier for pharmacies

Installing a high-quality air purifier and improving air quality in a pharmacy can bring many benefits to both pharmaceutical staff and customers.

Decrease the risk of cross-contamination and infection in pharmacies

By removing airborne illnesses in pharmacies, the risk of pathogen transmission and infection is significantly reduced. A HEPA (high efficiency particulate air)-certified filter is guaranteed to filter 99.97% of pollutants down to a size of 0.01 microns, including particles as small as the COVID-19 virus. A device that also comes equipped with UVC sterilisation can take it one step further by causing bacterial cell death and viral inactivation, rendering these microscopic organisms unable to reproduce or propagate. Studies show that when a HEPA-certified filter and UVC sterilisation technologies are used together, it is the best method for reducing the transmission of disease⁵. This is a great way to keep all users of a pharmacy safe.

It is worth noting that ‘HEPA-type’ filters do not undergo the same third-party testing! These filters, although available at a lower price than HEPA-certified filters, are not guaranteed to have the same air filtration capabilities.

Provide a better working environment for staff

An employer that invests in its employees by ensuring their health and safety differentiates itself from its competition. An improved working environment for employees makes it easier for employers to hire and retain employees, as well as keep them safe. Improving air quality by removing indoor pollutants from a work environment has also been linked to increased productivity amongst chemists, better work performance, lower levels of fatigue, and improved well-being amongst employees⁶.

Installing an air purifier in a pharmacy for air filtration can equally combat the presence of VOCs. VOCs are released into the air via cleaning and sanitising products, chemical usage, medications prepared by chemists, pesticides, and even furniture, to name a few. These particles can remain in the air for up to two years and can lead to many negative health effects. Unfortunately, not all air filtration technologies (including HEPA-certified filters) can remove them from your air. This is why Eoleaf products provide complementary technologies like activated carbon filtration and photocatalysis, both of which eliminate airborne VOCs.

Activated carbon filtration also removes unpleasant pharmacy odours from your breathing air, another way to improve your staff’s working environment. Bad odours (including those caused by certain chemicals in a pharmacy) can severely impact your day-to-day and can be distracting to employees and customers alike.

Instil customer confidence

Pharmacies that invest in clean air technologies are likely to have customers that feel more at ease when entering your establishment. Especially following the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to provide customers with clean air that will protect them from airborne illness in a pharmacy.

In addition to protecting them from airborne disease and infection, clients will be protected from allergens like pollen and fine particle pollution. For those suffering from allergies or asthma, entering a pharmacy can feel less overwhelming by reducing the possibility of experiencing adverse health symptoms including asthma attacks.

How to choose an air purifier for pharmacies?