Pharmacy support service wins top award
27 July 2006

A new service that enables people with asthma to get advice and support from pharmacists has received a Pharmaceutical Care Award.

The innovative scheme, developed by Lloydspharmacy in partnership with Asthma UK, is the first of its kind to be offered by a large pharmacy chain.

The Asthma Medicines Support Service identifies those who are experiencing difficulties controlling their asthma symptoms by asking them to complete a simple questionnaire on asthma control. Those whose asthma symptoms are shown not to be under control are invited to attend a Medicines Use Review (MUR) with their pharmacist.

First introduced in 2005, MURs offer people with asthma a private consultation with a trained pharmacist to discuss their condition, including medicine use and treatment. The pharmacist can provide advice on inhaler technique and talk through any difficulties being experienced, referring the individual to their doctor for an asthma review if needed.

Nearly 70% of those who attended a MUR were referred to their doctor and the asthma medicines of 62% of those people were changed.

‘These statistics highlight the important part pharmacists can play in assessing asthma control and making a positive impact on the lives of people with asthma,’ said Simon Selo, Asthma UK's Assistant Director for Service Development. ‘We are pleased to be involved in this new initiative which gives people with asthma effective care within the community.’

Asthma UK worked with Lloydspharmacy to develop leaflets for people with asthma to support the service. The charity also distributed its Take Control of Your Asthma booklet through the scheme.

‘Asthma is clearly a serious condition with 70% of people with asthma experiencing unnecessary symptoms,’ explained Justin Ash, Managing Director for Lloydspharmacy. ‘We established that we could improve the pharmaceutical care of people with asthma, and implemented the initiative, which includes the nationally recognised MUR service, in partnership with Asthma UK.’

The Asthma Medicines Support Service was supported by an educational grant from GlaxoSmithKline. The service is now being rolled out to every Lloydspharmacy across England and Wales.