The following is a guest article by Paul Christie, Co-Founder and CEO at Tachmed
The UK’s robust and well-established pharmacy model is facing huge changes this year, as hundreds of chemists across the country are expected to shut their doors in the coming months, leading to pharmacists declaring that the model is at ‘breaking point‘.
Back in 2022, NHS data revealed the number of community pharmacies in England had dropped to its lowest figure since 2015, due to a net loss of 110 pharmacies in 2021/22.
Then in January, Lloyds pharmacy announced it was withdrawing from Sainsbury’s supermarkets – setting the bleak tone for the remainder of the year. Its 237 branches closed in June, while Boots announced its plans to close 300 stores over the next 12 months. These losses have only added to an already strained situation.
This sheer number of closures risks causing a real setback to the government’s aim of promoting community-centric healthcare – an initiative viewed as an essential way of reducing health inequalities within a local area.
The Need for Community Central Healthcare
For decades, pharmacies have been a key pillar of community health. They provide both a convenient and less formal environment for those who cannot easily access or choose not to access other public health services for various different reasons.
GPs who have often encouraged people to utilize pharmacies more to ease their workloads – especially for minor illnesses or conditions helped by over-the-counter medicines – will also feel the impact of the closures.
In spite of the trend of further pharmacy closures, it is still possible for community health to be put firmly back on the agenda, in part owing to new and innovative developments in digital health services.
If trust can be built in health tech and notably in these new devices, and once the role of digital diagnostics technology is realized, thousands more patients can be reached and assisted more regularly and cost-effectively.
Lessons from the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic is perhaps one of the best and most recent cases to exhibit the need for community-centric healthcare. The virus quickly spread among pockets of communities, with monitoring of outbreaks only showing in densely populated areas and cities days and weeks after contagion had taken hold. For effective, preventative, and reactive measures to be taken, the COVID-19 virus could not be viewed in isolation by the individual, but rather approached in real-time as an urgent issue facing the whole area, taking into account a community’s structure and behavior.
This was the logic behind localized lockdowns. However, issues arose when a lack of communication and a slow response from decision-makers led to a consistently high number of COVID cases – as seen in Leicester, the city to be in lockdown the longest. Here, a more localized and community-focused response was required to bring levels of the virus down.
Should a similar contagious virus or disease emerge, a strong foundation and a consistent, responsive approach to community health – which crucially involves clear communication – will make all the difference in undertaking timely action to minimize impact.
The Evolution of Self-Testing
Five years ago, the idea of people regularly self-testing for a virus would have seemed a distant reality. However, since the pandemic, self-testing has become the norm, with lateral flow tests easily available for purchase in all major pharmacies and supermarkets.
We’ve seen a similar trend with sexual health self-testing in recent years. In 2018, Londoners gained access to testing online, through the Sexual Health London (SHL) service, and the results in just one year were staggering.
More than 200,000 Londoners chose to use the SHL service in the first year and 20% of new online users reported never having used a sexual health service before, showing they now felt empowered to manage their own health from the comfort of their homes.
Now, accessible digital diagnostics technology is entering the scene, taking self-testing to the next level. Whether in a rural community or urban area, patients can use a digital tool to receive an instant diagnosis – empowering them to monitor their health remotely.
These tools also enable healthcare providers to undertake a comprehensive analysis of patient data, leading to precise diagnoses, tailored treatment plans, and improved patient outcomes. As part of this, issues posing risks to the wider community can be flagged if and when they arise.
Building Trust
The UK government’s recent plan for digital health and social care has reaffirmed the significant role technology can play in improving health and social care. For this goal to be achieved, there needs to be a conscious effort to build trust in digital health services within communities – including providing the practical and educational resources to do so. As seen in the rise of self-testing, communities are a lot more flexible at adapting to new healthcare initiatives than they are often given credit for.
When it comes to digital health, leaders should aim to replicate the successful steps of self-testing during the pandemic – clearly communicating the need, answering any common questions and concerns, and directing people to the tools to make it possible.
Here, pharmacies themselves can play a pivotal role. Pharmacists are often trusted by members of the public who may not have as much contact with GPs due to struggling to get appointments or not being close to a doctor’s office. Often pharmacists can answer the same questions and concerns a GP can, but in a much more informal manner. Very importantly pharmacists often have a familiar relationship with the communities they serve and can provide an essential, supportive role alongside other health care professionals. The elderly and less able will feel the loss of this support acutely.
Building trust is a two-way dialogue, with listening also playing an intrinsic part. We all have a responsibility to understand a community’s needs and provide tailored solutions – informed by the lessons of recent years – to advance community central healthcare
