New data shows key role of pharmacies in safe provision of repeat meds

Community pharmacists are making a vital contribution to medicines optimisation and improvement of patient safety through the effectiveness of their repeat dispensing and ordering systems.

This is the conclusion of a new report from Pharmacy Voice, which recently conducted an audit of more than 3,000 pharmacies and over 150,000 patients.

It was found that one in five patients had a query with their prescription that required resolution, with pharmacists addressing four out of five of these. Such issues were most often dealt with by discussing the medication with the patient or by checking the person's medication record.

Moreover, pharmacy teams were able to prevent the inappropriate supply of more than 15,000 items that were prescribed, but were not supplied to the patient because they were not needed – saving the NHS around 300,000 pounds a week.

Rob Darracott, chief executive of Pharmacy Voice, said: "The timely publication of this Pharmacy Voice audit provides pharmacy teams with real evidence to demonstrate the value that these services provide to the community."

The organisation was formed by the National Pharmacy Association, the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies and the Company Chemists' Association to act as a unified lobbying group for the pharmacy sector.