Boag Lee, Maclure Katie, Boyter Anne, Cunningham Scott, Akram Gazala, Mcquillan Harry, Stewart Derek
PhD. Research Fellow. University of Strathclyde. Glasgow (United Kingdom).
PhD. Independent Research Consultant. Aberdeen (United Kingdom).
Pharm Pract (Granada). 2021 Jan-Mar;19(1):2152. doi: 10.18549/PharmPract.2021.1.2152. Epub 2021 Feb 12.
The Minor Ailment Service (MAS) in Scottish community pharmacy allows eligible people to gain improved access to care by providing free treatment for self-limiting conditions.
To determine the perceptions and experiences of individuals using MAS and to quantify the potential impact on usage of other healthcare services.
A cross-sectional survey was conducted of patients accessing MAS across Scotland during June and July 2018. Questionnaire items included reasons for choosing treatment through MAS, which other services they may have accessed had MAS not been available, experiences of consultation, overall satisfaction, and perceived effectiveness of treatment. Those accessing MAS were given a study pack including an information sheet, pre-piloted questionnaire, and pre-paid return envelope. Participants had the option to consent to an optional one-week follow up questionnaire that focused on perceived effectiveness of treatment after seven days and any further access to healthcare services such as general practice, emergency departments or repeat pharmacy visits.
There were 1,121 respondents to the initial questionnaire. Most reported 'convenient Location' as the main reason for their access to community pharmacy (n=748; 67.1%). If MAS had not been available, 59% (n=655) of participants reported that they would have accessed general practice for treatment of their minor ailment. Experience of consultations was also rated highly with all ten outcome measures scoring 'Excellent' overall. Satisfaction was reported positively with most participants reporting full satisfaction with the overall experience (n=960; 87.2%). At one-week follow up, 327 participants responded, over 85% (n=281) did not require further access to care to treat their minor ailment and 99.7% (n=326) said they would use MAS again.
Positive perceptions and experiences of those using MAS demonstrate a highly regarded service in terms of satisfaction and experience of consultation. The capacity for MAS to impact on the use of higher-cost healthcare services is evidenced through the number of participants who reported these services as a point of access to care should community pharmacy not be available. This national evaluation demonstrates MAS to be a positively experienced service and outlines the factors determining access for treatment of minor ailments.
苏格兰社区药房的小病服务（MAS）使符合条件的人能够通过为自限性疾病提供免费治疗来更好地获得医疗服务。
确定使用MAS的个人的看法和体验，并量化对其他医疗服务使用的潜在影响。
2018年6月至7月期间，对苏格兰各地使用MAS的患者进行了横断面调查。问卷项目包括通过MAS选择治疗的原因、如果没有MAS他们可能会使用的其他服务、咨询体验、总体满意度以及治疗的感知效果。使用MAS的患者收到一个研究包，其中包括一份信息表、预先试点的问卷和一个预付邮资的回邮信封。参与者可以选择同意参加一个为期一周的可选后续问卷，该问卷侧重于七天后治疗的感知效果以及是否进一步使用医疗服务，如全科医疗、急诊科或再次到药房就诊。
初始问卷有1121名受访者。大多数人报告称“位置便利”是他们前往社区药房的主要原因（n = 748；67.1%）。如果没有MAS，59%（n = 655）的参与者表示他们会前往全科医疗寻求小病治疗。咨询体验的评分也很高，所有十项结果指标的总体评分为“优秀”。大多数参与者对总体体验表示完全满意（n = 960；87.2%），满意度报告呈积极态势。在一周的随访中，327名参与者做出了回应，超过85%（n = 281）的人不需要进一步就医来治疗他们的小病，99.7%（n = 326）的人表示他们会再次使用MAS。
使用MAS的人积极的看法和体验表明，该服务在满意度和咨询体验方面备受推崇。如果没有社区药房，许多参与者将这些高成本医疗服务作为就医途径，这证明了MAS对其使用的影响。这项全国性评估表明MAS是一项体验良好的服务，并概述了决定小病治疗就医途径的因素。
