Pharmacists can play a greater role in public health
Diet is just one influence on public health |
Pharmacists could play a much greater role in public health, according to Miriam Armstrong, chief executive of PharmacyHealthLink. This is demonstrated by a report published this week (see p38) that highlights problems with the population’s health, she explained.
“Pharmacists have the potential to make a much greater contribution
to the health of their communities because they can be a prime source
of
advice and support on making healthy choices,” said Ms Armstrong. “But
their effectiveness will be limited if they work in a vacuum. Maximum
effectiveness comes from communicating well with other health care professionals,
local social services, NHS stop smoking services, primary care trusts,
and others in their communities. Under the new pharmacy contract they
will be required to sign-post customers on to other services so they
need to develop better support networks in order to do this.”
PharmacyHealthLink will shortly be publishing a report that describes
10 key roles in public health practice for community pharmacy (see Panel
below). The report will be available on PharmacyHealthLink’s website
in February (www.pharmacyhealthlink.org.uk).
10 key roles in public health
· Conduct a local health needs assessment among regular pharmacy
users and residents
· Recognise all the key influences on health, such as income
and education, as well as lifestyle issues, such as smoking and
diet
· Initiate and design projects that take advantage of the pharmacy’s
unique position and its contribution to the community
· Try to find dedicated funding that will be sustainable in the
longer term
· Build a committed network of participating community pharmacies
· Seek the support of other stakeholders
· Provide training for all staff — preferably in a multidisciplinary
environment
· Focus on the needs of the service user
· Evaluate the service
· Provide feedback on the service |
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