Patient Group Direction (PGD) courses

Patient Group Directions (PGDs) enable pharmacists to provide medicines and vaccines privately to support a wide range of patient groups and conditions. The NPA offers vaccination training and PGDs through our partnerships at very competitive rates on an extensive range of flu, travel, vaccination and non-vaccination/clinical (formerly oral/topical) PGDs.

PGDs enable pharmacists to supply and administer specified medicines to pre-defined groups of patients without a prescription as part of service delivery eg private flu vaccination.

Benefits to your business from offering services:

  • Increases your footfall and your revenue streams
  • Drives repeat demand
  • Provides the pharmacist with additional skill-set
  • Improves the visibility of your business in the local community profile
  • Develops your potential market

Services are good for your patients and customers as:

  • Community pharmacies are highly accessible
  • They have the assurance of being offered advice, medication and/or vaccination by a trained, accredited and trusted front-line healthcare professional
  • Your service is convenient
  • You may offer out-of-hours access due to extended opening hours

Strep A

Sore throats are a common ailment, especially in winter. People concerned that they may have contracted a throat infection already turn to pharmacies for over the counter remedies but pharmacies can help patients further by running a test 'n treat service. Trained pharmacists can confirm a patient's strep A diagnosis using a rapid test kit (also available via Pharmadoctor), then dispense appropriate treatment depending on the test result.

Weight loss

An estimated 23% of the UK population is now classed as obese, putting them at risk of a whole host of related health issues. The UK has the second highest rate of obesity in Europe and The Department of Health has also recently warned that obesity has overtaken smoking as the leading causes of some cancers. Despite this, the provision of weight management treatments available on the NHS remains restrictive with only one course of orlistat available.

By setting up a weight management service in your pharmacy you can provide convenient and personalised help to patients who need it.

Minor ailments

By signing up to the Pharmadoctor Minor Ailments Clinic Package you'll be able to help those looking to reduce the amount of alcohol they drink, to treat patients suffering from common conditions like migraine and weight management as well as a range of other health complaints such as acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome and many more.

Migraine

With debilitating symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and increased sensitivity to light or sound, migraine is a common health condition, affecting around one in every five women and around one in every 15 men in the UK.

Patients regularly turn to pharmacies for means of easing their symptoms so it is a perfect setting for a comprehensive migraine prevention and treatment clinical service.

Pick 'n' mix Clinic

While we have grouped together a number of our service packages to create specific clinics, we recognise that it is also important to give pharmacists the option of tailoring their offering to the needs of their patients.

The Pharmadoctor Pick 'n' Mix Clinic Package represents an economic way of allowing pharmacies to offer their patients multiple services which are not necessarily all within the same area of healthcare. The pharmacy becomes a unique clinic, catering directly to the specific needs of its community.

Flu jab

Most pharmacies now offer a seasonal flu jab service, with millions of flu vaccinations administered by pharmacists across the UK each year.

With pharmacists seeing hundreds and sometimes thousands of patients during the flu season, not only is the service vital to ensure the protection of huge parts of the population against the potentially fatal virus, it also represents an opportunity to further the awareness among the public of how pharmacies are changing from traditional dispensaries to become focussed on more clinical services.

Seasonal health

By signing up to the Pharmadoctor Seasonal Health Clinic Package you'll be able to help your patients stave off all manner of conditions, from colds and flu in the depths of winter through to hay fever relief in pollen season.

Hepatitis B

Healthcare workers such as nurses, carers and first-aiders require a hepatitis B vaccination for their jobs and would benefit from conveniently located vaccination services.

Women’s health

HPV, period delay, UTIs (urinary tract infections), contraception and a whole host of other clinical areas. Women’s health covers a huge variety of issues and you can help your customers with all of them by running a women's health clinic.