Pharmacy services could save NHS £470m
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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.