The Way Forward for Community Health Following Pharmacy Closures

The following is a guest article by Paul Christie, Co-Founder and CEO at Tachmed The UK’s robust and well-established pharmacy model is facing huge changes this year, as hundreds of chemists across the country are expected to shut their doors in the coming months, leading to pharmacists declaring that the model is at ‘breaking point‘. Back in 2022, NHS data revealed the number of community pharmacies in England had dropped to its lowest figure since 2015, due to a net loss of 110 pharmacies in 2021/22. Then in January, Lloyds pharmacy announced it was withdrawing from Sainsbury’s supermarkets – setting the bleak tone for the remainder of the year. Its 237 branches closed in June, while Boots announced its plans to close 300 stores over the next 12 months. These losses have only added to an already strained situation. This sheer number of closures risks causing a real setback to the government’s aim of promoting community-centric healthcare – an initiative viewed as an essential way of reducing health inequalities within a local area. The Need for Community Central Healthcare For decades, pharmacies have been a key pillar of community health. They provide both a convenient and less formal environment for those who cannot easily access or choose not to access other public health services for various different reasons. GPs who have often encouraged people to utilize pharmacies more to ease their workloads – especially for minor illnesses or c...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Health IT Company Healthcare IT Telemedicine and Remote Monitoring community health COVID Lockdowns Digital Diagnostics Healthcare RPM NHS patient data Paul Christie Pharmacies Pharmacists Self-Testing Sexual Health London Tach Source Type: blogs