Nine tenders received for simulated patient study
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society and the National Pharmacy Association have received nine tenders for a pilot study they are jointly commissioning that will use anonymous “simulated patients” to help ensure community pharmacists are providing the most safe and appropriate advice when supplying over-the-counter medicines.
The tender bids have come from a mixture of commercial organisations
and institutes of higher education, for a pilot study that will evaluate
the use of the simulated patient method as a potential mechanism for
gathering sufficient information to enable quality feedback to pharmacists.
It will establish whether or not the “simulated patient with feedback” approach
could lead to quality improvements and if that prove to be the case,
similar studies will be rolled out on a national basis.
David Pruce, director of practice and quality improvement at the Society,
says: “Simulated patient studies are those in which a patient enters
the pharmacy in order to assess the health care process rather than to
seek treatment. These have been used as an external ‘test’ of
the quality of professional advice by a number of organisations in the
past. We are using similar techniques but in a supportive manner to help
pharmacists to look at the quality of their patient interactions. In
this case, the intervention will form part of an educational programme
which will enhance the quality of information being provided to patients
by pharmacists.”
Colette McCreedy, director of pharmacy practice at the NPA, said: “The
main reason for using a ‘simulated patient’ methodology is
to help pharmacists to identify their strengths and where they can make
improvements when supplying non-prescription medicines. Participating
pharmacists will receive immediate confidential feedback on their performance.
Similar studies have been conducted with very successful outcomes in
Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and Germany, which have proved to
be popular with pharmacists and to have led to improvements in practice.
“We are hoping that the pilot will provide us with enough data
to make a decision as to whether this is a positive way to support pharmacists
in the future.”
The nine tender bids have been sent to a panel of reviewers and will
be returned to the Society and the NPA by 24 May. A shortlist will then
be drawn up, followed by interviews. The dates for the interviews are
flexible but scheduled for the beginning of July. The start date of the
project will be confirmed once the successful organisation has been chosen
but it is envisaged that the project will be completed by the end of
the year. In the meantime, a summary of the progress of the pilot will
be presented at the British Pharmaceutical
Conference in September.
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal