Convenience of pharmacy behind move to self-care
Ask your pharmacist campaign has encouraged move to self-care |
Convenience in health care is what the British public is looking for, latest research from Mintel shows. And it seems that this has translated to a small shift towards self-care and greater use of pharmacies.
The research involved over 2,000 adults and one of the main messages
to emerge was that, contrary to popular belief, most adults (80 per cent)
feel they have enough spare time. “We are spending more and more
money on time-saving products and services,” explained Peter Ayton,
chief statistician at Mintel. “We now even look to save time with
health care by going straight to the pharmacist,” he added.
John D’Arcy, chief executive of the National Pharmaceutical Association,
said he was intrigued to read that people do not feel over-stressed and
over-worked. “It’s an interesting survey.” He added: “It
is confirming a lot of what we thought about pharmacy and the move to
self-medication.”
The research revealed that the percentage of consumers who ask their
doctor for advice on ailments has declined from 52.3 per cent in 1993
to 50.5 per cent in 2003. In parallel with this, the proportion seeking
advice from a pharmacist has increased from 38.8 per cent to 40.3 per
cent.
“This trend of asking the pharmacist has been driven by a combination
of changing consumer attitudes and government policy,” the report
states. It also points out that many GP practices have introduced fixed
appointment times. “Many view this as inconvenient and therefore
look for a more instant solution.”
Mr D’Arcy was pleased that the research highlighted the success
of the “Ask your pharmacist” campaign. “The NPA has
worked hard to get that message into Department of Health thinking so
it is good to see it mentioned in an independent survey.” He added
that is was particularly good to see that consumers were using pharmacists
as their number one source for dealing with a health care professional. “This
suggests consumers are becoming more empowered.” The report recognises
that ready accessibility and convenience is the reason behind this, he
added.
The research also shows that there has been a 70 per cent growth in the
value of the over-the-counter medicines market over the past 10 years.
However, a spokesman for the Proprietary Association of Great Britain
said the research suggested that people who are not going to the doctor
are more likely to take nothing than to buy an OTC medicine. “In
general, the British population still
doesn’t appear to rush to treat every minor ailment. Fifty per
cent of illnesses are not treated and two thirds of people who don’t
go to the doctor just wait for the problem to go away.” He added: “The
research is timely and it will restart discussions about what we can
do to make people aware of just what OTC medicines are available and
what they can do to look after their own health.”
Out of hours campaign The option for GPs to opt out of out-of-hours
service provison will mean more people are confused about what to
do when their GP surgery is closed, says the charity Developing Patient
Partnerships. A new campaign launched by DPP will advise people on
how to deal with health problems outside surgery hours. DPP research
revealed that for out-of-hours advice, only 2 per cent of people
visited their local pharmacy.
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