Community pharmacy services

Low public awareness of community pharmacy services, survey reveals

Around half of 1,000 adults surveyed were aware of the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service and that pharmacies in England offer NHS consultations.…

Drug-gene interaction testing may be about to go mainstream

Ambitious plans for pre-emptive pharmacogenomic testing were put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, but NHS pilots next year could pave the way for major change.…

PJ view: All pharmacists should have the opportunity to become a prescriber

Despite increased opportunities for pharmacists to train as independent prescribers, there are still barriers for some. Employers and policymakers must do all they can to support pharmacists to ensure they are able to undertake this training.…

Quarter of hospitals yet to refer patients for ‘life-saving’ community pharmacy service

Exclusive: Responses to a freedom of information request show that 39 out of 147 hospital trusts in England had not yet implemented the discharge medicines service.…

More than three quarters of urgent care referrals completed within community pharmacy, says NHS England

Speaking at The Pharmacy Show, Rob Proctor, senior policy and pharmacy integration lead at NHS England, said community pharmacies completed 77% of referrals from urgent and emergency care within the pharmacy as part of a pilot scheme.…

Additional 130 community pharmacies sign up to offer independent prescribing service

Judy Thomas, director of contractor services at Community Pharmacy Wales, said she expected a "huge jump" in the number of independent prescribing pharmacists from January 2023.…

Community pharmacy ‘conflict of interest’ must be tackled in prescribing pilots, says deputy chief pharmaceutical officer

Bruce Warner said the NHS “can’t hide from the conflicts of interest” that arise from prescribing and dispensing within the same community pharmacy.…

Community pharmacies may be locally commissioned to dispense COVID-19 antivirals

Exclusive: Draft guidance from NHS England says community pharmacies may assist in "establishing and maintaining timely access to COVID-19 therapeutics".…

Community pharmacies incentivised to refer frequent users of reliever inhalers to general practice

The new referral incentive will be part of the Pharmacy Quality Scheme for 2022/2023.…

Oxybutynin is not suitable as over-the-counter medicine, say pharmacy bodies

Pharmacy bodies say there is "mounting evidence" linking oxybutynin to cognitive decline and the progression of dementia.…