A study of over 70,000 sore throat consultations in Wales found that pharmacist-led consultations “resulted in fewer same-day antibiotic prescriptions – by pharmacist or subsequently by GP – than GP sore throat consultations”.
Researchers “undertook a retrospective longitudinal cohort study of patients aged six years or older who had a sore throat consultation between November 1 2018 and February 28 2020”, the study published last week (November 11) by the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy said.
“Of 72,736 index consultations, 6,495 (8.9%) were with sore throat test and treat (STTT) and 66,241 (91.1%) with GP,” it added.
Read more: Sector slams Mail’s guide to ‘game’ Pharmacy First for antibiotics
It found that pharmacy STTT consultations only resulted in same-day antibiotic prescriptions a quarter (24%) of the time, while GP consultations led to same-day prescriptions in 39% of cases.
And within 28 days of a consultation, antibiotic provision occurred in 28% of STTT consultations compared to some 40% of GP consultations, it showed.
“Inappropriate use”?
“In 2023, a similar Pharmacy First service for seven common infections was launched in England as part of the delivery plan for recovering access to primary care,” the study said.
“Although pharmacy services can have huge benefits for the wider healthcare system, reducing general practitioner workload…concerns have been raised anecdotally that allowing antibiotic supply from pharmacies could lead to increased inappropriate use and antimicrobial resistance (AMR),” it added.
Read more: Pharmacy First to be ‘closely monitored’ for antimicrobial resistance risk
“However, to date there are no data to support these concerns,” it said.
Meanwhile, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) last week (November 14) issued a warning that “antibiotic-resistant infections continue to rise”.
“There were an estimated 66,730 serious antibiotic-resistant infections in 2023, compared to 62,314 in 2019” – surpassing pre-pandemic levels, it said.
“Gaming” Pharmacy First for antibiotics
It comes as a pharmacy group has urged the BMA to reject a GP leaders’ motion for pharmacy blood pressure checks to be “terminated with immediate effect”, which is set to be debated at the BMA’s annual GP conference tomorrow.
GP leaders also called for the Pharmacy First service to “follow guidelines on prescribing and ensure appropriate antibiotic stewardship” and demanded that “antibiotic prescribing rights be removed from community pharmacy”.
Read more: Pharmacy group urges BMA to reject ‘short-sighted’ GP vote on pharmacy BP checks
And last week, the pharmacy sector slammed tabloid the Mail Online for publishing an article that tells patients how to answer Pharmacy First service questions so that pharmacists “give you antibiotics”.
Pharmacist Ben Merriman said that it was “incredibly irresponsible of a national newspaper to be essentially showing people how to game the system”.
Read more: Pharmacists can ‘learn a lesson’ from vets over AMR, says DH
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) told C+D that the Mail changed its headline following concerns from the negotiator.
But community pharmacist and chair of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) digital expert advisory group Darren Powell stressed that the article is “still irresponsible” after its headline change.
