40% Of National Pharmacy Association Members To Provide Chlamydia 'Test And Treat' Service, UK

Main Category: Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 02 Oct 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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Only six weeks after launch NPA statistics show that just over 40% of NPA UK member locations are enabled for the NPA's chlamydia screening service.

Neal Patel, NPA Head of Communications comments: "It is gratifying to see that community pharmacy as a sector and NPA members individually understand the significance of this, the first oral antibiotic switch. It is vital that pharmacy embraces this opportunity to show key stakeholders it can deliver this service and further POM to P switches may depend on it. NPA members are clearly recognising the unrivalled opportunity it affords and are seizing it with both hands.

"We are on track for our target of having the majority of NPA members signed up to provide the screening and treatment service by November - when the treatment will become available as a Pharmacy medicine. We launched the service early so that members would have time to ensure that they were ready to go as soon as the medicine became available OTC."

The pharmacy service will complement existing provision within the NHS and will help to ease the overstretched resources currently affecting existing services for this rapidly escalating problem.

Notes

1) The NPA has worked with Actavis, the company that has had azithromycin reclassified (Clamelle Azithromycin 500mg tablets) and a private pathology laboratory - Gordon Laboratories Group (GLG) - to enable NPA members to set up a complete screening and treatment service with very little effort and at minimal cost - only £21.

2) Purchasers of the NPA resource pack (price £21) are entitled to access the services of the testing laboratory and to buy Clamelle.
To raise awareness of this newly available service Actavis is investing in a £2 million advertising campaign to consumers shortly after the service is available and ready to go in pharmacies. . The NPA's Ask Your Pharmacist campaign will focus on chlamydia screening - see the posters on this page. Copies of these will also be included in the NPA resource pack for display in participating pharmacies.

3) Actavis has carried out extensive market research (Ipsos MORI Health October 2007) to establish whether people would be willing to pay privately for chlamydia screening and treatment. Key findings included that:

a) 123,000 chlamydia infections are diagnosed each year in the UK.

b) 1 in 10 of people feel at risk of chlamydia with 9 in 10 saying if they felt at risk they would get tested.

c) 44% cited convenience as an important factor in accessing chlamydia testing / a treatment.

d) 30% of the target audience would buy a test kit.

e) A third would purchase a test kit for their partner at the same time.

National Pharmacy Association