OBJECTIVES: This study aims to pilot a community pharmacy chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) case finding service in England, estimating costs and effects. METHODS: Patients potentially at risk of COPD were screened with validated tools. Smoking cessation was offered to all smokers identified as potentially having undiagnosed COPD. Cost and effects of the service were estimated. KEY FINDINGS: Twenty-one community pharmacies screened 238 patients over 9 months. One hundred thirty-five patients were identified with potentially undiagnosed COPD; 88 were smokers. Smoking cessation initiation provided a project gain of 38.62 life years, 19.92 quality-adjusted life years and a cost saving of £392.67 per patient screened. CONCLUSIONS: COPD case finding by community pharmacists potentially provides cost-savings and improves quality of life.
OBJECTIVES: This study aims to pilot a community pharmacy chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) case finding service in England, estimating costs and effects. METHODS:Patients potentially at risk of COPD were screened with validated tools. Smoking cessation was offered to all smokers identified as potentially having undiagnosed COPD. Cost and effects of the service were estimated. KEY FINDINGS: Twenty-one community pharmacies screened 238 patients over 9 months. One hundred thirty-five patients were identified with potentially undiagnosed COPD; 88 were smokers. Smoking cessation initiation provided a project gain of 38.62 life years, 19.92 quality-adjusted life years and a cost saving of £392.67 per patient screened. CONCLUSIONS:COPD case finding by community pharmacists potentially provides cost-savings and improves quality of life.
Authors: Thys van der Molen; Job F M van Boven; Terence Maguire; Pankaj Goyal; Pablo Altman Journal: Br J Clin Pharmacol Date: 2016-11-02 Impact factor: 4.335