Using community pharmacy for asthma patients not attending yearly reviews Rosedale Surgery

Inappropriate asthma treatment and management are known to cause unplanned hospital admissions and premature death. Annual reviews are essential to monitor how well asthma is being treated and controlled. However, around 30% of asthma patients do not attend a yearly review with their GP, yet still collect asthma treatment from their community pharmacy.   

This pilot project enabled 10 community pharmacies in Great Yarmouth and Waveney to offer patients an asthma review when they collected their prescription medication. Five medical practices identified patients who had not attended an asthma review in the past year, and provided electronic non-attendance lists to community pharmacies. 

Community pharmacists received a support pack and training, including an asthma management revision lecture, guidance on asthma review service provision, role play and clinical scenarios.

Pharmacists did annual reviews with 27 patients who would not have had them otherwise. Data from 26 patients revealed that the intervention increased the use of preventer inhalers, the cost of which can be offset by reduced use of NHS resources and improved asthma control and quality of life.

Focus groups with pharmacists and practice staff identified high levels of satisfaction with the service. The project benefited from pharmacist training, pharmacy accessibility and pharmacist competence. However, pharmacy consultation rooms, medical practice organisation differences and varying IT systems were barriers to implementation. 

This service could potentially be offered to all asthma patients. Evidence from this pilot study will feed into a research project, as well as inform work within local sustainability and transformation partnerships around the management of respiratory conditions.

Contact information

For more information about this project, please contact Dr Richard James, Partner GP, Rosedale Surgery.