Royal Pharmaceutical Society guidance on over-the-counter supply of simvastatin could help identify high-risk patients
Royal Pharmaceutical Society guidance on over-the-counter sale of simvastatin goes beyond requirements set out by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for pharmacy supply and could help identify high-risk patients who could otherwise be missed, according to Sadia Khan, lead pharmacist for self care at the Society.
Ms Khan’s comments come in response to a letter published in the
BMJ which suggests that criteria set out in the Society’s guidance
could lead to people having their risk
of heart disease misclassified (PJ, 7 October, p414).
In a “rapid
response” to the BMJ letter, Ms Khan says: “Purchasing
an OTC statin does not stop GPs inviting their patients to attend for
risk assessment, nor does it stop this being performed by the practice.
Indeed, pharmacists may help by identifying individuals at higher risk
resulting in a referral for formal risk assessment and prescribed treatment
for those who previously may not have even known to request this service,
or considered it important.”
Ms Khan also points out that the MHRA did not make cholesterol tests
and blood pressure monitoring prerequisites for sales of OTC simvastatin. “However,
the Society advises that it is good practice for pharmacists to offer
these tests if services are available. The importance of establishing
local communications, eg, how GPs wish to be informed of purchases of
simvastatin or test results and agreeing local policy for referrals,
is also mentioned in the Society’s guidance,” she says. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader