MINOR AILMENTS
A REPORT COMMISSIONED BY COMMUNITY PHARMACY SCOTLAND (CPS) HAS DEMONSTRATED THE UNDENIABLE POPULARITY OF THE MINOR AILMENT SERVICE (MAS) AMONG PATIENTS.
TEN OUT OF TEN FOR MINOR AILMENT SERVICE!
A
recent report - ‘A Mixed Methods National Evaluation of the Experiences of Service Users of the Minor Ailment Service’ - which was commissioned by CPS and produced in conjunction with Robert Gordon University and the University of Strathclyde, was the first of its kind for a Scottish community pharmacy service.
MAS is provided by community pharmacies and is available to qualifying groups of people, such as children, those over 60 and people on certain benefits. The service is intended to allow patients to go directly to their pharmacist for minor health concerns and helps people to improve their self-care of certain limiting conditions. It is also intended to combat health inequalities.
28 - SCOTTISH PHARMACIST BACKGROUND TO MAS
Minor ailments are reported to constitute around thirteen per cent and five per cent of general practice and emergency department visits respectively, but cost two and four times more by comparison with treatment in a community pharmacy.
MAS has provided NHS treatment in community pharmacy – for those eligible – for self-limiting conditions since it was established in 2006. In 2016/17, more than two million products were provided by pharmacists through MAS with a reimbursement value of £4.9 million.
Despite the increased access and convenience of community pharmacies, the general public has been reported to view pharmacists as ‘drug specialists’, overlooking the
wider expertise they possess and the potential contribution to self-care they can provide. It was therefore felt that it was important to not only understand the experiences of those who use the service, but also their expectations and existing perceptions and perceived value of community pharmacy’s treatment of minor ailments.
REASONS FOR STUDY
The aim of this study was to explore value as perceived and experienced by those accessing MAS in Scotland.
The study was undertaken through a survey of those accessing MAS in June and July 2018, following a smaller-scale pilot study in April 2018. All community pharmacies in Scotland were invited to participate by distributing up to ten study packs to
consecutive individuals accessing the service.
Questionnaire items included: reasons for choosing MAS, overall satisfaction with the service, healthcare consultations potentially avoided, and overall experience and perceived value of the service.
RESULTS
One thousand one hundred and twenty-one questionnaires were returned in total, with responses from all fourteen geographical health boards. Treatment was for eleven minor ailment indications, including allergy, dermatological, gastrointestinal, infection, respiratory and musculoskeletal pain.
The report totally validated the necessity of this service, with 60 per
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