Advantages to the patient and the pharmacy of using community pharmacy test kits

There are many advantages to the patients when using home test kits which is why you should make them accessible and available to customers.

The key advantages to the patient are:

• Speed of results: By getting results in as little as 5 minutes.
• Early screening: By detecting potential conditions early.
• Affordability: Available at a reasonable and competitive price.
• Ease of use: Clear instructions are available using the leaflet inside the package or even via a mobile app for many tests.
• Avoids the need for a GP surgery appointment:  By not needing an appointment at their GP surgery they can go straight to the pharmacy for a test.
• Time: Because many pharmacies have longer opening hours than GP surgeries.
• Location: Because community pharmacies are often closer to a patient than their GP surgery.
• Less embarrassment: Many tests e.g. stool and urine samples can be embarrassing for a patient so the opportunity to complete the test in their own home away from others is a major plus point.

There are also many advantages to the pharmacy when using home test kits. Some of them are obvious and easily measurable such as increased financial revenue but some are not so easy to measure such as reputation:

The key advantages to the pharmacy are:

• Loyal patients and a good reputation: Happy patients getting the support, information and resources they need will be far more likely to become repeat customers and recommend the pharmacy to their friends and family with obvious associated benefits.

• Greater choice: The more products you stock the more likely you are to attract impulse purchases and / or new customers to your premises.

• Opportunity to signpost to other services: Having a patient coming in for a test kit can be a great opportunity to also signpost the patient to healthcare support and resources available to them.

• Opportunity to Link Sell: Having sold a particular product e.g. a Stomach ulcer H.pylori test kit might be a great opportunity to link sell an associated product e.g. an Over The Counter (OTC) Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) e.g. Nexium Control / Esomeprazole, Rafting Agent or Antacid e.g. Gaviscon Advance.