Commissioning pharmacy services could save the NHS over £470m a year, according to findings from the Community Pharmacy Future (CPF) project – a collaboration between Boots UK, The Co-operative Pharmacy, LloydsPharmacy and Rowlands Pharmacy.

The CPF project comprised three pilots:

• A support service in Wigan, which targeted patients over 65 years taking four or more medicines. This pilot resulted in a significant increase in medicines adherence and patient quality of life, and a significant reduction in medical and self-treated falls, according to the CPF.

If rolled out, it could result in annual cost savings of £36m from both reduced prescribing costs and hospital admissions as a result of adverse drug reactions and £34m savings in hospital costs by reducing falls associated with fractures.

• A chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) case finding service in the Wirral.

The research suggests that if rolled out, this could save the NHS £264m by diagnosing patients earlier and reducing productivity costs.

• A COPD support service in the Wirral to help patients get the most from their medicines through improved under- standing, adherence and inhaler technique. Results demonstrate a significant increase in medicines adherence, a reduction in overall NHS resource use by patients and a significant increase in patients’ quality of life.

If the pilot was rolled out across England, the NHS could see annual benefits of £134.5m and societal benefits of £4.5m a year, says the CPF. “These important projects demonstrate again how community pharmacy teams can contribute to both improving outcomes for patients and value for the NHS,” says chief pharmaceutical officer, Keith Ridge.