The community pharmacy sector is uniquely positioned to support the government’s ambition to move care closer to home. With flexible opening times, premises embedded in local communities and convenient access for the majority of the population, pharmacies are a significantly under-utilised—and under supported—asset for improving health outcomes.   

A new report from Public Policy Projects (PPP), How medicines optimisation contributes to population health, highlights the potential of community pharmacy to take a more strategic role in population health management and tackle health inequalities. The report, chaired by Minesh Parbat, ICB Chief Pharmacist at Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board, and delivered in partnership with Optum UK, calls for:  

Key recommendations: 
 

• Community pharmacy to take a central role in delivering public health interventions, including all routine adult vaccinations 

• NHS England to integrate community pharmacy into Enhanced Access service delivery 

• Community pharmacy to be contracted to deliver medicines reviews, capitalising on their high frequency of interaction with patients 

• A minimum of two pharmacists working at any one time in community pharmacies, one to support medicines supply and the other to support the delivery of clinical services 

As community pharmacy contract negotiations have recently begun, this report is a timely call to action for policymakers to not only address pressures facing the sector, but to unlock its full potential in improving health outcomes and moving care closer to home.