Collaborating

with Confidence.
making pharmacy count

GP Insights Research
To secure a significant role for pharmacy at the centre of a patient focused NHS, pharmacy needs to
understand current GP perceptions and ascertain the best pathway for effective collaboration in the future.

In order to understand the current GP perception of pharmacy a survey of 200 GPs was undertaken by Kantar Health1
via the internet in September 2010. The following data is taken directly from the results of this survey.

Did you know? But,

• 37% of GPs only contact their local community
pharmacies 1-5 times each month
• 32% of GPs believe pharmacists are working beyond
their competencies in providing services
• 29% of GPs believe pharmacists are more concerned
with profit than patient outcome
• 40% of GPs will rely on local community pharmacists
more in the future for services
• 69% believe GP and pharmacy collaboration is
important for developing commissioning strategies
• At least 50% of GPs believe involving pharmacy in
commissioning will extend patient involvement, ensure
cost effectiveness and/or efficient use of NHS resources

TM

HP – 0479 Date of preparation: February 2011

 Pharmacists are trusted…but are they working beyond
their capabilities?
The current GP/pharmacist working relationship is viewed positively. 74% of GPs have sought the advice/input of
local community pharmacists, indicating they trust and value pharmacists’ opinions.
When asked how local community pharmacies add value, the top three areas were:
1. Dealing with some minor ailments
2. Medication advice/review
3. Offering a second level prescribing safety net

% of GPs who agreed with the following statements

81% pharmacists are a valued member of the healthcare

professional team
80% pharmacies supply a useful service to the community
100
80% pharmacists have expert knowledge about medicines

80 79% pharmacists can help my patients to adhere to their

Percentage (%)

medications as prescribed
60 77% I trust and respect my local pharmacist

40 70% pharmacists should be the first port of call for minor ailments
70% pharmacists can be useful partners in the management
20 of long term conditions
69% pharmacists are well placed to support public health initiatives
0

However, only 7% of GPs felt pharmacy added value by providing health screening/checks or by working as part of team.
In addition, the research also revealed scepticism amongst GPs around pharmacists’ capabilities and motivation:
• 49% of GPs prefer to have services like monitoring done by themselves or their practice nurse
• 32% of GPs believe that pharmacists are working beyond their competencies in providing services
• 29% of GPs believe pharmacists are more concerned with profit than patient outcome

The future of GP/pharmacy collaboration

40% of GPs agree they will rely on local community pharmacists more in the future for services, and 38% expect to have
increased contact over the next 12 months. However, only 9% of GPs wanted to continue to cooperate in the same way with
pharmacy in the future.
Nearly a third of GPs (31%) felt improving communications and being open to discussion would put pharmacy in the best
position for collaboration with GPs. In the future the top three ways they would like to interact are:
1. Face to face meetings (63%) or
2. Small group meetings with colleagues and other pharmacists (56%) or
3. Email or mail updates (24%)

The top three ways in which GPs would like to cooperate with pharmacists in the future were:
1. Repeat prescribing/electronic repeat prescribing (16%)
2. Baseline monitoring (BP, weight and cholesterol) (10%)
3. Minor ailments management (10%)
However, despite these three areas being chosen by the largest percentage of GPs, it is still a statistically low proportion,
less than a fifth, of the total GPs surveyed. This reveals that although GPs see the way they cooperate with pharmacists
changing in the future, they do not currently have a clear idea exactly how.
 Pharmacy should be involved & can help enhance the
commissioning process
GPs in England, Wales and Scotland believe pharmacy should play a role in the commissioning and review of
healthcare services. Only 7% of GPs do not believe GP and pharmacy collaboration is important for developing effective
commissioning strategies, with 69% thinking it is important.

% of GPs who believe pharmacy should play a role in the following

70
60 Implications of medicine usage – 66%
Percentage (%)

50
Partnering to reach local health targets – 58%
40
30 Delivery of an increased range of healthcare services – 48%

20 Monitoring of effectiveness of healthcare service provision – 37%

10
Identification of healthcare provision need – 33%
0

Equally, GPs believe pharmacy has a lot to offer to the commissioning process:
• 80% believe pharmacy can advise on prescribing costs and assess financial implications of medicine
management initiatives
• 53% think pharmacy can input into local health organisation (consortia) strategies
• 53% think pharmacy is well placed to talk to a wide range of people to ensure their views are considered in
the commissioning and delivery of services
• 51% believe pharmacy can help identify gaps in patient care and service provision

The GPs surveyed also agreed that involving pharmacy in commissioning strategies will improve their effectiveness
at delivering quality, patient focused and cost effective care.

% of GPs who believe involving pharmacy will help

60
Extend public and patient involvement – 54%
50
Percentage (%)

40 Ensure cost effectiveness of healthcare service provision – 52%

30
20 Ensure efficient use of NHS resources – 50%
10
Ensure the quality of healthcare service provision – 39%
0
 New era in English commissioning: an opportunity for pharmacy?
Only 31% of English GPs surveyed had a good understanding of the NHS White Paper, while just 4% had a very good
understanding. Therefore it is perhaps not surprising a significant proportion (65%) have not contemplated the implication
for pharmacy.
However, when questioned, the majority of English GPs believe the transfer of commissioning responsibilities and
budgets will increase the extent to which English pharmacy will provide a host of healthcare services.

% of English GPs who believe the extent to which pharmacy provides these healthcare services will increase

Minor ailment management – 62%

Patient education and health promotion – 60%

Stop smoking clinics – 54%

70
Monitoring i.e. blood pressure/cholesterol – 52%
60
Services such as weight management – 51%
50
Percentage (%)

Repeat prescribing for long term conditions – 49%

40
Screening i.e. Chlamydia – 48%
30
Supplementary/independent prescribing by pharmacists – 44%
20
Oral contraceptive supply – 42%
10
Medicine Use Reviews (MURs) – 40%
0

% of GPs who believe the transfer of commissioning will have a long-term impact

80
70
60 Range of services offered by pharmacies (71%)
Percentage (%)

50 Interaction between community pharmacy

40 and other healthcare professionals (65%)

30 Access to services offered by pharmacies (63%)

20 Quality of services offered by pharmacies (54%)
10 Number of people visiting a pharmacy
0 as a first port of call (50%)

Defining a united pharmacy vision and making it a reality

The GP research reveals opportunities and challenges for pharmacy, highlighting that timely dialogue and debate
is of paramount importance if pharmacy is to positively shape its future.
The forums taking place in England, Wales and Scotland aim to:
1. Understand the current environment
2. Create consensus on a united future vision
3. Define key actions to help shape our vision into reality
Consensus on a vision for pharmacy going forwards is vital, and defining a clear pathway to turning this vision into
a reality is crucial.
For further information please contact Mel Strutt at Red Health, research organiser on behalf of Pfizer,
on 020 7025 6519 melanie.strutt@redconsultancy.com

References
1. Research methodology, 200 GPs across England, Wales and Scotland. Survey conducted via the internet by Kantar
Health, September 2010

HP – 0479 Date of preparation: February 2011