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The Choose Pharmacy pilot is shining a light on the important role community pharmacists can play, says Mair Davies, new RPS director for Wales.

The Welsh government initiated a new pilot service in October 2013 called 'Choose Pharmacy'. The aim was to encourage patients to access a community pharmacist rather than their GP for NHS treatment of common ailments. As part of a phased roll-out, the service has been available in two pathfinder areas, Cynon Valley and Gwynedd.

As well as making better use of pharmacists' skills and resources, it was hoped that the service would help to reduce demand on GPs' time for minor conditions, creating more time for more complex consultations. An evaluation of the phased roll-out has now been published. The report gathered evidence using eCAS data (the pathfinder IT system for recording consultations) and GP prescription data, as well as focus groups, surveys and in-depth interviews with pharmacists and GP practices.

It concluded that the service has been €well designed and delivered€ and that €the impact and economic evaluation suggests a positive return on investment in Choose Pharmacy over the next five years based on the performance of the service in the two pathfinders€. Furthermore, it was found that demand and the effectiveness of the service continued to increase over time, with analysis suggesting that it resulted in a reduction in the number of prescriptions issued by GPs.

It is also encouraging to see that the stakeholders interviewed believed that the majority of patients were enthusiastic and held positive views about the service, particularly with respect to improved access to advice and treatment.

Costs and benefits

In terms of the financial costs of the service, the report estimated that a national roll-out would cost £11m. However, there are large benefits which could be generated by establishing Choose Pharmacy as a national service in Wales. The majority of these benefits would be accrued as a result of a reduction in GP appointments.

The analysis suggests that the best estimate of delivering Choose Pharmacy over a five-year period would be a benefit of £43m. Choose Pharmacy shines a light on the important role of community pharmacists. It paves the way for access to individual health records by pharmacists involved in patient care and provides a platform for the growth of pharmacy roles in the community as primary care cluster arrangements evolve in Wales.