Morning surge in blood pressure is an independent cardiovascular risk factor in the middleaged and the elderly. Whether such a surge occurs in young subjects is not known. Eighty normotensive subjects (age: 21.8 ± 1.3 yr) measured their own blood pressure (BP) using an automatic device (Omron HEM-7080,) on going to bed and on waking up, for 2 consecutive days. In contrast to large morning BP surges reported for older age groups, there was much smaller but significant (P<0.002) rise only in the DBP (1.9 ± 5 mm Hg) on waking up on day 2 in young subjects. The duration of sleep and the time the subjects slept influence the sleep-wake BP change.

Introduction: Telepharmacy refers to the delivery of pharmaceutical care service through telecommunication to patients in locations where they may not have direct contact with a pharmacist. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of pharmacist has expanded to provide services remotely through telepharmacy. This study aimed to assess Malaysian community pharmacists’ perception and attitude towards implementing telepharmacy. Method: This cross-sectional study was carried out from August 2020 to October 2020 using an online self-administered questionnaire. 217 community pharmacists in Klang Valley were recruited through convenience sampling method. 5-point Likert scales were used to evaluate the respondent’s perceived benefits, perceived barriers and attitude towards the implementation of telepharmacy. Results: 37.8% of the respondents showed positive perception while 53.9% are moderately positive towards towards the benefits of telepharmacy. Age (p=0.019) was shown to impact on the perceived benefits on implementation of telepharmacy. Only 8.3% of the community pharmacists perceived low barriers in telepharmacy implementation and it was significantly associated with education level of the respondents (p=0.032). Younger community pharmacists and community pharmacists who have less years of working experience were more likely to have a positive attitude towards the implementation of telepharmacy (p<0.001). Conclusion: In conclusion, most Malaysian community pharmacists practicing in urban area has shown positive perception and attitude towards the benefits and implementation of telepharmacy. However, the perceived barriers towards its implementation is high. A separate training or education on telemedicine may be useful to promote the use of telemedicine to all the pharmacists.