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Thanks to the NHS primary care access recovery plan, more than 23 million people can now view test results and check their consultation notes online without needing to contact their GP practice. NHS England on Monday (4 December) announced that over 81 GP practices in England (more than four in five) are now giving patients access to their new health records online through the NHS App. In May, the NHS announced the primary care access recovery plan setting a target of 9 in 10 GP practices offering patients access to their records through the NHS App by March 2024. By making access to healthcare easier and quicker, the NHSE also aims to free up to 10 million GP appointments a year by next winter.

Well Pharmacy, one of the UK's leading independent pharmacy chains, has been offering flu vaccinations for free. The chain says it is concerned as the winter flu season is now in full force, with hospital admissions reaching a peak and flu stats higher than they have been in recent years. Recent data shared by NHS England showed that there was an increase in flu cases by nearly 70 per cent leaving many in hospital each week. Well Pharmacy is worried about those who have yet to have the flu jab and has been urging people to get one for free. It recognises that only children aged 2-11, people over 50, and those with certain medical conditions are eligible for free NHS jabs, leaving millions who would normally have to pay for a flu vaccination which usually costs £15. Research recently undertaken by the chain shows that a quarter of people (25 per cent) think that after so many Covid-19 jabs in the last few years, 'vaccine fatigue' has led to a perceived lack of motivation in others to get their jabs.

Rowlands Pharmacy has joined hands with healthcare software company HasHealth for an enhanced digital proposition to facilitate seamless delivery of a raft of clinical services including flu and travel vaccinations. The new system is now available across 400 Rowlands pharmacies across the UK. The partnership comes as Rowlands Pharmacy strives to provide patients with a seamless booking experience whilst minimising time-consuming administration for pharmacy staff, with its waiting list, medical pre-screen questionnaires and resource management capabilities, the company said in a statement. HasHealth offers a virtual healthcare software solution that allows community pharmacies to schedule, manage, and communicate with patients easily online. It combines its cutting-edge video technology with booking and management software, which can be adapted to any clinical service. Nigel Swift, managing director at Rowlands Pharmacy, commented: "We pride ourselves on listening to our staff, based on feedback we knew we could do better with our digital proposition for clinical services and flu vaccinations in particular.

In a recent announcement, the British supermarket chain, Asda has launched its first online prescription service becoming the first self-serving shop to offer prescribed medicine supply at the doorsteps through its latest healthcare accessibility venture. The NHS certified online pharmacy service, Asda Online Pharmacy, is set to offer patients a digital platform designed to simplify the prescription process for patients, offering the convenience of online management and home delivery with their partnership with Pharmacy2U. Effective immediately, new patients can register for an account on the platform via pharmacy.asda.com. Once registered, they gain access to a seamless prescription ordering system that facilitates home delivery, along with the ability to monitor the progress of their orders. Prescriptions submitted through Asda Online Pharmacy will undergo rigorous scrutiny by qualified pharmacists before being dispatched directly to patients' doorsteps, all without any additional charges.

Well Pharmacy has announced a new partnership with RangeMe, a product discovery, sourcing and purchasing platform, as it looks to increase the diversity of products available to its customers. The independent pharmacy chain said the partnership will provide new, emerging and diverse brands increased access to its buying teams. There are already over 200,000 suppliers registered on the RangeMe platform. "We pride ourselves on being at the heart of the communities we serve and are delighted to be working with RangeMe to increase the diversity of the products we are able to offer to our customers across the UK," Reena Takhar, head of OTC & NHS buying at Well Pharmacy said. "Given the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, we're keen to do all we can to give businesses of all sizes the opportunity to connect with our buyersto allow us to offer new and interesting great value products to our customers." RangeMe helps retailers and their buying teams scale product sourcing efforts with streamlined submissions, simplified discovery tools, and the industry standard digital sell sheet.

Growing up with a family that worked in pharmacy, our dinner time conversation was not like that of other families. Ours would centre around medicines, prescriptions, and the health challenges within our local community. I quickly came to understand the importance of the role played by community pharmacists. So I can't help but be concerned that the current direction being taken by digital health innovation threatens to leave community pharmacies behind. Whilst it is brilliant that patients can easily access their prescriptions through the rise of online pharmacies, many of these cut out the vital knowledge and expertise of local community pharmacists, and threaten to end the traditional close ties between local community pharmacists and their patients. Nine out of 10 NHS users believe that pharmacists play an unrivalled role when it comes to keeping patients in the community safe. We must ensure that digital health does not replace this important source of advice for health problems and injuries, but instead preserves and enhances this vital, personal role and enables pharmacists to continue delivering care in new and effective ways. A vital connection with patients Community pharmacies provide crucial support to local patients with managing their medicines safely, particularly older and more vulnerable people. The specific expertise and knowledge held by pharmacists can help inform the long-term management of a patient's condition and ensure they are kept safe from potential side effects and complications.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has expressed concerns over Boots UK's decision to reduce supplemental opening hours at some pharmacies. The association stated: "Some pharmacists and other staff at Boots are being notified this week of changes to opening hours at their place of work, with local briefings taking place. The PDA are supporting their members to deal with any potential impact on their employment." It said that reducing pharmacy opening hours would affect patients' access to a trusted healthcare professional, especially if it is being done by the largest community pharmacy multiple. It even called upon the NHS to adequately fund community pharmacies to ensure they remain open when patients and local communities need their services. Meanwhile, Boots management has informed PDA that most of its employees are not pharmacists, and "less pharmacists are expected to be directly impacted by these changes than other colleagues," PDA said.

Community pharmacy teams in England have broken all previous records by a distance and delivered nearly five million flu jabs in the past season. They have administered over 2.08 million more flu vaccinations under the national programme during 2021-22 than the previous year, which is a a 75 increase, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee has reported. According to latest data published by the NHS Business Services Authority in its Advanced Service Flu report community pharmacy has administered 4.85 million vaccinations under the national Flu Vaccination Service in 2021-22. The total number of vaccines administered in community pharmacies in 2020-21 was 2.77 million. Commenting on the end-of-season figures, PSNC chief executive Janet Morrison said: "I am thoroughly impressed to hear it confirmed that community pharmacy has had another record-breaking year of flu vaccination provision. The ability of pharmacy teams to deliver the healthcare services that communities need, despite the challenges and pressures this winter, is simply phenomenal.

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) is organising a series of webinars to help pharmacy owners and their teams to prepare for the implementation of new Pharmacy First service, and changes to the Contraception and Hypertension Case-Finding Services. Beginning from 5th December, the webinars would be conducted throughout December and January, with support from NHS England and the Centre for Postgraduate Education (CPPE), the organisation announced on Thursday (30 November). During the online seminars, pharmacy teams will be explained about the individual services announced, and things to consider before they start providing, or expand their offering of, these services. Each webinar will have CPE's Services Team, who would be leading the team, and policy experts from NHS England and CPPE as speakers.

Community pharmacists in England have launched a new digital platform called My Local Surgery, enabling patients to access Pharmacy First consultations online. This initiative, a part of the NHS Pharmacy First scheme, facilitates free video consultations for six common conditions, connecting patients with community pharmacists for clinical advice and treatment. The platform, spearheaded by a team of pharmacy, tech, and clinical services experts, including experienced community pharmacists Darren Lingaloo and Gulraj Dhillon, tech specialist Nav Ramiah, and Dr. Adam Kirk, a seasoned NHS and digital healthcare professional, seeks to meet the rising demand for clinical services. Darren Lingaloo, co-founder and chief pharmacist at My Local Surgery, said: "The evolving role of pharmacists is long overdue and has the potential to save millions of GP appointments every year.

Charac, an NHS-integrated one-stop platform for independent community pharmacies, has secured £1 million strategic investment from the Royal Mail Group, enabling its time-saving platform to assist more local pharmacies and patients across the UK to easily manage their prescriptions and consultations online. The company said this new money will enable it to leverage strong levels of trust that pharmacists enjoy within the communities they serve in and will ensure pharmacies remain a cornerstone of vibrant high streets and an invaluable provider of frontline healthcare products and services, including vitally needed consultations. Charac says it is aiming to sign up over 1,000 UK pharmacies in the next 12 months by expanding its geographic footprint beyond current cities, including London, Manchester and Birmingham, and targeting small multiple and independent pharmacies, accounting for almost 40 per cent of the UK's community pharmacy network. The announcement also sees the addition of Stefan Kulik, a managing director at Royal Mail, to the Charac board. Stefan is responsible for leading Royal Mail's expansion into the healthcare industry and brings a breadth of experience, having previously worked in healthcare with companies including Johnson & Johnson.

Pharmacy owners using NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) Manage Your Service (MYS) portal are urged to complete the 2023/24 Community Pharmacy Assurance Framework (CPAF) screening questionnaire which is available until midnight on Sunday (30 July). The short screening questionnaire consists of 10 questions. Those who are not yet signed up to MYS will be able to complete the questionnaire online. The questions will be published on the NHSBSA website shortly. Once the screening questionnaires have been completed, NHS England will then select a small number of pharmacies for a monitoring visit and/or to complete the full CPAF questionnaire. Community Pharmacy England has published a short Briefing on the screening process. As the questions have not changed since 2022/23 the previous briefing is still relevant.

In a groundbreaking move towards modernising healthcare, England's National Health Service (NHS) has successfully implemented digital prescriptions, as reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its latest regional digital health report. Since January 2024, patients across England have had access to their prescription information through the NHS App, marking a significant leap in healthcare accessibility and efficiency. With over 33 million registered users, representing 75 per cent of the adult population, the NHS App has become a vital tool in managing healthcare online. The introduction of digital prescriptions allows users to order repeat prescriptions online without the need for a GP visit. This innovation has witnessed a surge in digital requests, with over 3.1 million repeat prescriptions processed monthly.

To lead the way in modernizing the UK's healthcare, the National Health Service (NHS) digitized the prescriptions. WHO mentioned this in their current digital regional report. Since January 2024, the NHS App in England has offered patients the opportunity to see statistics about their prescriptions. This represents a gigantic step in the area of healthcare which can be categorized as another stage in healthcare accessibility and efficiency. Over 33 million residents have taken the NHS app enabling the users to be 75% of the adult population. The app helps in online management of their health. The use of digital prescriptions enables patients to order repeated prescriptions online, in which they would past getting an appointment a GP.

The Department of Health in Northern Ireland has announced an immediate intervention worth over £5.3m in value, and a commitment to progress wider reform arrangements in collaboration with the Community Pharmacy NI (CPNI) to support pharmacies to deal with the ongoing pressure. The Minister and Department are 'very aware of the pressures facing community pharmacies'. They discussed the situation with CPNI representatives at a meeting last week. The scale of the unprecedented budgetary pressures and uncertainty currently facing the Department were spelt out. The Department said: "Notwithstanding these pressures, CPNI were informed that a support package for their sector was being finalised. This package includes immediate interventions worth over £5.3m in value, plus a commitment to progress wider reform arrangements in collaboration with CPNI." Recently, the CPNI highlighted that community pharmacists have issued a stark warning that shortages and skyrocketing prices of many medicines could result in pharmacies being unable to supply important prescription medicines to patients.

A new NHS-funded training course on clinical examination skills has been announced by Health Education England (HEE) for 10,000 community pharmacists. The training will be provided by CliniSkills and be coordinated by HEE with the Pharmacy Integration Programme at NHS England. With pre-registration now open to all community pharmacists, the programme will be available from 17th April 2023 and will until March 2024. It will be delivered online, with optional face-to-face attendance for pharmacists who would find this beneficial. Pharmacists will be required to complete a module on history taking and identification of serious conditions and can then choose from four optional modules, which cover the following themes: dermatology; cardiology; paediatrics; and ear, nose and throat. The training is designed to be complementary to the independent prescribing training and can be completed prior to or after an independent prescribing training course. It is open to all community pharmacists including those that work part time and locums.

On June 3, Synnovis, a pathology laboratory serving several NHS organisations in South East London, was targeted by a ransomware attack. This cyber incident has disrupted vital blood testing services, crucial for a range of medical treatments, and raised significant concerns over data security. NHS England confirmed that a cybercriminal group, Qilin, published data online, claiming it was stolen from Synnovis. The National Crime Agency (NCA) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) are currently working to authenticate the data and understand its contents. A helpline has been established to address patient concerns, and NHS England urges patients to attend their appointments unless otherwise directed. The attack has rendered some of the NHS's blood testing systems inoperable, causing substantial disruption to medical services in South East London.

Healthcare workers, including community pharmacy staff, can book their Covid-19 booster vaccination through the National Booking Service from Wednesday (September 7) onwards. NHS England has announced that around seven million people, including those aged 75 and over, people who are immunosuppressed and health and care workers will be able to book an appointment for their Covid-19 booster vaccinations online or by calling 119. Eligible staff are encouraged to book an appointment for a booster dose as soon as possible, provided it has been at least three months since their last dose of the vaccine. "For other eligible patients (not health and care workers), invitations are being sent out and will be landing on their doormats from Wednesday 7th September inviting people to book their appointment for the following week without delay. The NHS will contact people when it is their turn to book in for the vaccine - there will be no need for patients to contact the NHS," said PSNC.

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has updated the final price concessions for June 2023, following a discussion by Community Pharmacy England regarding medicine pricing issues reported by pharmacy owners (its members). A price concession only applies for the month it is granted; any prices agreed for concessions requested late in the month will roll over into the following month. Community Pharmacy England encouraged pharmacies to report any problems obtaining a Part VIII product at or below the stated Drug Tariff price, using the online feedback form on the Community Pharmacy England website along with full details of the supplier and price paid for any products sourced above the Drug Tariff price. The association will investigate the extent of the problem and, if appropriate, discuss the issue with DHSC.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has published the Drug Tariff Category M price list for July which reflects an increase in reimbursement level of approximately £5m per quarter. An adjustment of -£23.8m was announced, in light of the results of the margin survey (latest result up until end of December 2022), and the phasing down of the additional £100m agreed across years 4 and 5 as part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework and uplifts for underlying market prices (between January - March 2023). Community Pharmacy England has agreed the adjustments based on the analysis of margin delivery and on current projections for 2023/24. It said: "The objectives are to ensure full delivery of agreed margin and smooth delivery as much as possible. As always, the impact on individual pharmacies will vary depending on dispensing mix."