Boots UK has launched a test and treat cystitis service across 37 of its branches, it has announced.
The multiple is offering private in-store service to test and treat cystitis in women aged 16-64 in selected stories across London, Cardiff and Sheffield, Boots said last week (10 January).
The service, which began in December, will run for three months, Boots said.
Private service
The service consists in a consultation with a Boots pharmacy advisor who will ask the customers a series of questions on any of their symptoms that might indicate a lower urinary tract infection (UTI).
It features a £9.99 urine self-testing kit alongside a free downloadable app that uses a smartphone camera to allow the user to analyse their results in their home.
If the results test positive for a UTI infection, the customer is advised to return to the pharmacy where the kit was purchased and see a Boots pharmacist who can prescribe a prescription only medicine (POM) in a second consultation for an additional £14.99.
The service aims to offer women ‘faster access to appropriate treatment’ and help take pressure of GPs, Boots said.
Developing the pharmacy offer
Boots UK director of pharmacy services Asif Aziz said: ‘The NHS long-term plan highlights the growing need to use new diagnostics and the introduction of this service highlights the enhanced role that community pharmacies can play in supporting services offered by the NHS and GPs, as well as the excellent clinical skills our pharmacists can offer to support patients’ health in locations and at times that are convenient to them.’
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