ABRUZZO – The Regional Council, on the proposal of the Health Councilor Nicoletta Veri, has approved a resolution with which it launches the experimentation of New Services in the Community Pharmacy, fully implementing the Agreement stipulated at the State-Regions Conference .
The service pharmacy, an evolution of the professional activity in the field of primary care, was born from the desire to expand local services, also with a view to providing local healthcare services, encouraging the de-hospitalisation of healthcare. «We are facing a new frontier in healthcare – declared councilor Verì – since, after the emergency phase linked to Covid, the network of pharmacies spread across the territory is now perceived differently by citizens having taken on a role of territorial hub of the healthcare system and representing a first aid at the service of the citizens themselves. Starting this trial will not only allow us to optimize the available resources but also fill gaps especially in internal areas where the healthcare response in terms of services provided has always been more complex”.
The services of the service pharmacies, being an experimental phase, will be financed with dedicated ministerial funds and free for citizens up to the sum allocated to the Abruzzo region. The resources available to the Abruzzo Region for this experiment amount to 1 million 239 thousand euros. A detailed timetable of activities has therefore been developed for the implementation of the new services in the affiliated pharmacies.
«All regional pharmacies will be invited to participate in the trials – explained Councilor Veri – and the hope is that at least 50% of the 542 pharmacies currently operating in the area will join the project. The pharmacies will participate on a voluntary basis but meetings will be organized to present the project and identify further ideas for improving the activities that can be implemented to support the care pathways activated at the local health authority level”.
Specifically, the timetable of the regional experimentation, prepared taking into account the 2019 national guidelines, concerns the following activities:
- cognitive services: monitoring of adherence to therapy, review of drug therapy, patient advice on the correct ways of taking drugs and detection of suspected adverse reactions to drug treatments in COPD;
- 1st instance analysis: telemedicine services (Holter Blood Pressure, Holter Cardiac, ECG);
- support in fecal occult blood screening
- vaccinations against SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19: administration of vaccines against the coronavirus.
Maximum disclosure will be given to the approved protocols and citizens will be informed by their pharmacies about the services offered, which can be accessed free of charge. The timetable approved today by the Council provides for the start of the activities planned for each service being tested by the month of July, subject to the participation of the pharmacies present in the area and will end on December 31st.
