Community pharmacists save healthcare systems hundreds of millions of pounds a year by giving patients health advice over the counter, an international pharmacy conference has heard.

The finding follows promises from PSNC that it too is working to compile stronger evidence of the benefits of pharmacy services in England. According to a survey of 197 pharmacists in Finland, pharmacists helped avoid 6.2 million visits to a GP and 750,000 emergency visits a year by offering advice, improving adherence and correcting errors.

Pharmacists also helped slash prescription numbers by 2.6 million a year and prevented 123,000 inpatient nights in hospital in Finland, the conference of the International Pharmaceutical Federation in Lisbon heard on Wednesday.

Dr Erkki Kostiainen, of the Association of Finnish Pharmacies (AFP), said: “Although some of the evaluations are based on the opinions and experience of doctors and pharmacists, I see no reason why these findings should not be applicable to other countries.” The survey was carried out by the AFP and PricewaterhouseCoopers.