NPA Publishes Evaluation Toolkit, UK

Main Category: Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 12 Mar 2009 - 7:00 PDT

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The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) commissioned this toolkit to support its members in evaluating their services and in preparing reports for commissioners.

Increasing focus is being placed on evaluation in health services across the UK. PCOs will be basing commissioning decisions on government health priorities, local health needs and evidence of service quality, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Consequently it is important for service providers to incorporate all of these aspects within any report which is designed to secure further funding for the service.

In England, the pharmacy white paper acknowledges that the 'evidence bases underpinning the value for money and effectiveness of current pharmacy services on clinical outcomes is, at best, patchy' and additionally states that: 'The government believes a clearer culture of evaluation needs to be at the heart of pharmacy service development and provision, and service evaluation should be considered alongside the community pharmacy contractual framework and any new service developments initiated as projects'.

The NPA believes that this toolkit will help its members throughout the UK to provide robust supporting evidence for their service proposals. Although the guidance focuses on preparing reports for services that require funding for re-commissioning, it is equally valid for community pharmacists writing a new service proposal and for those wishing to assess the viability of a private service.

Tonia Morton, NPA Professional Services Manager, comments: "All too frequently pharmacy services are set up, run as a pilot and then close due to an inability to secure further funding via the commissioning process. Although in some cases this may be due to lack of funds or demand for the service, it can also be due to not creating a sufficiently strong argument for service continuation. It is therefore imperative that any service evaluation report produced at the end of a cycle is sufficiently robust to convince the commissioner of the service's value. It is usual for commissioners to request an end of cycle service evaluation within the service level agreement and therefore this opportunity to promote the worth of the service should not be missed."

NPA members can download the toolkit and associated spreadsheets from: http://www.npa.co.uk/members.

Notes

This toolkit has been produced by the NPA Professional Services department in partnership with the University of East Anglia. Particular thanks go to:

Dr David Wright, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice
Dr Tracey Sach, Senior Lecturer in Health Economics
Ms Catherine Rice, Pharmacy Undergraduate
Ms Sarah Emerson, Pharmacy Undergraduate.

National Pharmacy Association

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