British GPs are at their limits – much like the rest of the British healthcare system. Now pharmacies are supposed to help put out the flames by dispensing prescriptions. Can this work?
The British healthcare system has its fair share of problems. Be it postponed operations or young doctors protesting out of desperation – in any case, something has to change fundamentally, or the medical care of the population will soon look very grim. Even general practitioners are not spared from this crisis. That’s why there is a desperate search for ways to reduce their workload, at least somewhat. One way is to get pharmacies more involved.
To deal with the long waiting times, overcrowded waiting rooms and overwhelming number of appointments plagueing GPs and patients, English pharmacies will be allowed to issue prescriptions for seven common health issues. Those conditions include: earache; uncomplicated UTI in women; sore throat; sinusitis; impetigo; shingles and infected insect bites. Over the course of the year 2023, pharmacies throughout England will gradually begin issuing prescriptions themselves. By 2026, all pharmacy graduates will be allowed to write prescriptions individually.
According to a survey, British citizens trust their pharmacies. Of 2,067 Brits over 16 years of age who visited a pharmacy in the past year, 91 % felt they received good advice. Study participants were also asked about vaccinations and prescriptions at pharmacies. “When asked what services they would like their community pharmacy to provide – excluding obvious services, such as dispensing medicines or selling them over the counter – almost two-thirds (64 %) of respondents said a flu vaccination service and a similar proportion said blood pressure checks,” according to a report in the Pharmaceutical Journal.
In addition, 77 % of respondents said they would trust pharmacies to prescribe them medications they have taken before. However, this trust drops when it comes to new drugs that have not been taken before. In this case, only slightly more than half (56 %) of respondents trust pharmacies to prescribe a medication. “The public support for pharmacies providing these types of services suggests that there is potential to further expand the offering at pharmacies, which in turn would reduce the workload for GP practices,” the report concludes.
“With pharmacist independent prescribing services being trialled across England this year and hopes for all pharmacists graduating as independent prescribers by 2026, we would expect this confidence to grow,” says Thorrun Govind, chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s English Pharmacy Board, confidently. And confidence is urgently needed when looking at the current state of the British healthcare system. Whether this initiative can actually help the strained system remains to be seen.
Image source: Javier García, unsplash
