A new report from the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) looks at the increasing role pharmacy is playing in self care. Pharmacy as a gateway to care: Helping people towards better health sets out a collection of evidence demonstrating these self care capabilities and the value pharmacy is bringing to healthcare systems.

The report looks above and beyond the traditional role of pharmacy in the community to a more formalised approach whereby pharmacies are being reimbursed for certain services – and whereby their promotion of self care is seen as an integral part of the wider healthcare system.

The report looks at schemes in Scotland and Switzerland that highlight how pharmacies are increasingly seen as a ‘formal gateway’ to the healthcare system.

Report co-author Warren Meek said: “Collaborative interaction between patients and pharmacists, with or without the provision of a therapeutic substance, confers undoubted benefits to the total healthcare system.

“More governments should consider and promote the relevance and importance of self care and acknowledge the role of pharmacists in delivering improved patient health outcomes through supporting patients in self care activities.”

The report also highlights opportunities to further develop the contribution of pharmacy, including point-of-care testing.

FIP will refer to this report in the process of updating its 1996 Statement of Principle on the Professional Role of Pharmacists in Self Care.