General public awareness and views of community pharmacy services in Scotland: the 'first port of call' study.

MacLure, Katie; Craig, Gail; Boyter, Anne; MacLure, Andrew; Power, Ailsa; Osprey, Adam; McGregor, Annamarie; Stewart, Derek

Abstract

Background: The recently published 'Achieving Excellence in Pharmaceutical Care: a Strategy for Scotland' urges community pharmacy (CP) to make itself the 'first port of call' for healthcare advice. Purpose: To explore the Scottish general public's awareness of CP services and their openness to consider CP their 'first port of call' for health care advice. Methods: A Scotland-wide survey was administered up to 20 times in each of 117 CPs by pre-registration pharmacy graduates. It included Likert scales of attitudinal statements with items developed from existing literature. Ethical approval had been gained. Results: To date, the 2260 surveys have been completed from 117 CPs giving a response rate of 96.5%. Varying ages and standards of health are represented. Respondents were aware CPs 'are contracted to the NHS' (87.4%) and that 'pharmacists with an additional qualification can diagnose and prescribe' (53.3%). 87.6% would likely/very likely view CP as their 'First port of Call' for common illnesses. However, 71.4% were unlikely/very unlikely to approach CP with 'more serious symptoms'. Intentions for 'monitor or review of regular medicines' were less clear (unlikely/very unlikely (38.2%) against likely/very likely (35.1%)). 44% lacked an awareness of CP services in general. 75.3% indicated the pharmacist 'should have access to read and update relevant parts of my electronic health record' and pharmacist access to electronic records would make 67.8% more likely to view CP as a 'first port of call' for health issues. Conclusions: This Scotland-wide survey indicated the general public's positivity and openness to access community pharmacy services, however, being recognised as a 'First Port of Call' may require awareness raising.

Citation

MACLURE, K., CRAIG, G., BOYTER, A., MACLURE, A., POWER, A., OSPREY, A., MCGREGOR, A. and STEWART, D. 2018. General public awareness and views of community pharmacy services in Scotland: the 'first port of call' study. Presented at the 47th European symposium on clinical pharmacy (ESCP 2018): personalised pharmacy care, 24-26 October 2018, Belfast, UK.

• Presentation Conference Type: Poster
• Conference Name: 47th European symposium on clinical pharmacy (ESCP 2018): personalised pharmacy care
• Start Date: Oct 24, 2018
• End Date: Oct 26, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 18, 2019
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: Community pharmacy; Health care advice; Public awareness; Scotland; First port of call
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/249040