The new service highlights Boots UK’s commitment to long-term condition management and is launched as new research reveals that the majority (88%) of family members of people with type 2 diabetes are ready and willing to support their loved one, with 85% believing they could more effectively help them manage their condition if they had some training, advice or guidance.
Research conducted by Boots UK found that more than a quarter (26%) of family members of people with type 2 diabetes are already speaking to their pharmacist about their loved one’s condition, with a fifth (20%) of respondents stating they would like to have a private conversation with a pharmacist trained in diabetes.
This is now a service Boots UK offers – all pharmacists have been trained as part of their Continuing Professional Development on how to offer bespoke support to customers in the management of diabetes, demonstrating the increasing role pharmacy is playing in the management of long-term conditions such as diabetes.
With the NHS’s annual spending on diabetes in the UK expected to increase from £9.8 billion to £16.9 billion over the next 25 years, pharmacies are well placed to help reduce some of the strain on the NHS and provide essential support for both those with type 2 diabetes and those that support them.
Dr Catherine Maytum, a GP working in central Bristol says: “The move by Boots towards a condition-led pharmacy approach should be welcomed by GPs and other healthcare professionals. Providing the best possible support for people with long term conditions, such as diabetes, is vital to improve compliance and minimise the risk of complications, and pharmacies are perfectly placed to offer this support. GPs will always try to provide sufficiently detailed advice during the consultation, but inevitably patients find that further questions often only occur to them after they have left the surgery, and when this occurs, pharmacists are in an ideal position to help.''
More information:
http://www.webmd.boots.com/diabetes/default.htm