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EU pharmacy report points to growth in services

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EU pharmacy report points to growth in services

The Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union’s 2017 Annual Report surveys European countries on the extent and variety of services offered in their community pharmacy sectors, highlighting what the PGEU describes as an increase in innovative service delivery.

The report, titled Community pharmacy services: Measuring and improving health outcomes in community pharmacy, is based on responses from 30 out of 32 European countries regarding services offered.

According to the report, all European countries provide ‘type 1 medication reviews’ as part of the national mandatory dispensing process; this covers things such as checking that dose, frequency etc. are appropriate for a patient. 53 per cent of countries offer ‘Type 2’ medication reviews – described as a “structured, private consultation between pharmacist and patient and focuses on issues of adherence and the safe, effective and rational use of medicines.”

47 per cent of countries said they provide homecare services such as support for chronic disease patients, while 93 per cent said their community pharmacy sector offers night or out-of-hours services to increase access.

Regarding disease management, 43 per cent of countries offer asthma/COPD management services, and the same number offer diabetes management. 37 per cent said they provide hypertension management services.

A positive trend

Speaking to Pharmacy Magazine, a PGEU spokesperson said the report figures point to an increase in the provision of innovative services in pharmacy across Europe. The spokesperson said: “The trend that we see across Europe in general is towards an expanding scope for provision of community pharmacy services.”

Launching the report, PGEU secretary General Jurate Svarcaite said: “Professional services that go beyond medicines supply have been found effective in improving health outcomes for various diseases such as hypertension, asthma, diabetes, etc., as well as increasing the population’s access to health services.”

Ms Svarcaite added: “It is exciting to see that number of pharmacy services and their extent is increasing year on year, and more importantly that those services are highly valued by the patients and communities we serve.”

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