Pharmacy Daily | Ready to play a key role

PHARMACIST and herbalist Gerald Quigley, a speaker at the upcoming Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM) Annual Conference 2023, will be discussing how "pharmacy teams in all settings can play an important role in the support of Long COVID patients".

"With their knowledge and skills in diagnosis, a highly trained pharmacy workforce, up-to-date with recognising the early signs and symptoms of Long COVID, and the latest evidence-based treatment options, is a highly valuable piece of the healthcare puzzle - especially in a climate of challenges to GP access."

He explained that Long COVID in Australia has not gone away despite far less media focus, with 5-10% of COVID-19 cases in Australia leading to the insidious post-COVID condition.

Long COVID recently prompted a Parliamentary Inquiry which heard submissions of evidence from healthcare practitioners and other groups about issues and inconsistencies around access to care and models of care for Long COVID.

This weekend, hundreds of practitioners will converge at the ACNEM conference titled 'Long COVID Navigating the Complexity: A Clinician's Roadmap'.

Audiences will hear from researchers, clinicians, and therapists about the latest scientific evidence and approaches to tackling the ongoing problem of Long COVID, including pathways to simplifying diagnosis and exploring potential evidence-backed treatment protocols.

Quigley will be presenting on the "crucial role mitochondrial health plays in the management of Long COVID".

"I will be presenting science-based evidence for nutritional and lifestyle interventions for better outcomes for Long COVID patients."

"Some of these interventions include regular exercise, calorie restriction, plant-based diets, and antioxidative supplements, to enhance mitochondrial health and to reduce the severity of and likelihood of Long COVID.

"Supplementation includes nutritional compounds which support immune function, as well as those such as ubiquinol which support mitochondrial energy production, which has been shown to be impaired by viral infection, resulting in fatigue."

Recent research also shows that the impact of Long COVID and potential long-term post-COVID disabilities could contribute substantially to the COVID-19 burden in Australia's post-vaccination setting, and "community pharmacy is well positioned to take a key role in this post-pandemic health landscape," Quigley concluded.