PSNC encourages pharmacy contractors to participate in Pharmacy Advice Audit

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) is encouraging community pharmacy contractors and their teams to take part in the negotiator’s latest Pharmacy Advice Audit.

The audit has been extended but results must be submitted by 23.59 on Friday (March 11).

Under the audit, pharmacy teams need to record information about the informal healthcare advice that they give in a single day, which would provide a critical check on how people continue to rely on community pharmacies.

The results of the audit will provide key evidence for use in funding discussions with the government and the NHS.

Last year’s Advice Audit highlighted the scale of the informal consultations that took place in pharmacies during the pandemic, and helped the PSNC to persuade MPs to support the case for Covid-19 costs.

“We would be very grateful to anyone able to take part in this year’s audit – the more pharmacies who are able to do so, the stronger our evidence is,” the PSNC stated.

To make it easier for pharmacy teams, the negotiator has kept the audit paperwork straightforward.

To successfully complete the audit, pharmacy teams will need to:

• Record patient/customer interactions where advice was given by either a non-pharmacist team member and/or a pharmacist.
• Carry this out for at least one day, recording all consultations.
• Estimate the percentage of consultations that were recorded during that time period.
• Rate confidence in the advice given to help identify areas for improvement.
• Enter the data on PharmOutcomes.