Dear Member,
The impact of the pandemic is now becoming more evident, even as the number of infections declines. The pandemic may have permanently changed the ways we work.
We have spoken to many of you over the last few months, with a number of you or your staff still in self-isolation it has been a struggle to cope in the aftermath, particularly with excessive workloads. But, things are starting to settle down with businesses beginning to open up, and people are now able to contact and spend time with loved ones.
Pharmacy businesses will need to operate differently in the future. This event has shown that the NHS is unable to handle the excessive amount of pressure. It is likely, via an NHS or private route, that community pharmacy will now be playing a much greater clinical role in the future.
Pharmaplus has repeatedly stated through the years that this would be the direction of travel, the pandemic has only brought this to the front line.
So, this brings us to our unique offering - 'patient walk-in service'. The service is genuinely a
'clinical' service. It enables pharmacists to both diagnose and prescribe for conditions that they would have otherwise had to refer to a GP. The 'patient walk-in service' opens up a previously untapped market that allows you to support and capture patients that would have otherwise burdened the NHS with ailments that you could treat in the pharmacy.
This service will show increased demand now, particularly that GP surgeries are remaining shut or only allowing minimum access to patients - a scenario likely to continue for quite a while. We have also heard that the pandemic has accelerated the earmarking of many GP practices for closure.
So how does this Walk-in Clinic service work?
- We train you in a range of diagnostic skills.
- You then assess patients that come into your pharmacy with your new skillset under strict
protocols.
- You can then decide to issue a prescription if you are an independent prescriber OR refer to a telephone hotline where qualified medical staff will assess your consultation and issue a prescription on your
behalf.
- You will then charge the patient for the cost of the consultation, and dispensing the prescription (if deemed necessary to be issued).
- As an innovation to the service, it is now even possible to use video consultations, if you are worried about patient contact and the transmission of COVID-19.
If promoted correctly, the service can help build trust with your patients, provides them with an opportunity to discover what a pharmacist can genuinely do and it will be a source of additional revenue to your business!
Please contact us on info@pharmaplusltd.co.uk to find out more about this unique service or with any
other enquiries you may have.
Regards,
PharmaPlus
