2025/10/30 by Sejal Parekh, Lingqian Xu, Kieran Hand +2 · 1 voice
Immunology and Microbiology · Medicine · #Antibiotic Use and Resistance #Medication Adherence and Compliance #Pharmaceutical Practices and Patient Outcomes
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/jacamr/dlaf196
openalex publication_date 2025/10/30 · openalex created_date 2025/11/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Abstract Objectives The TARGET Treating Your Infection (TYI-RTI) leaflets are designed to support healthcare professionals in delivering tailored conversations with patients about respiratory tract infection (RTI) symptoms. This study evaluated their use across community pharmacies in England through the Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS). Methods In 2022–23 and 2023–24, the PQS incentivized community pharmacies to use TYI-RTI leaflets for patients presenting with upper RTIs during a 4 week period each year. Results Across the 2 years, 225 615 patients were reviewed using TYI-RTI leaflets. A total of 7525 pharmacies participated in at least 1 year, with 7407 taking part in both. The proportion of patients requiring escalation to the pharmacist fell from 23% (26 678) in 2022–23 to 15% (16 417) in 2023–24. Approximately one-third of patients were managed entirely by the wider pharmacy team. Signposting to another healthcare provider also declined, from 12% (13 248) to 7% (8250; P < 0.001), with immediate escalation reducing from 6% (6859) to 4% (4075; P < 0.001). Most patients were offered over-the-counter (OTC) remedies—85% (97 551) in 2022–23 and 89% (98 343) in 2023–24 (P < 0.001)—with high acceptance rates (80% and 84%, respectively). Self-care advice was provided to almost all patients [95% (109 474) in 2022–23; 97% (106 770) in 2023–24; P < 0.001]. Around one-third received additional written information in both years [31% (35 624) and 31% (34 242)]. Conclusions Community pharmacies successfully used TYI-RTI leaflets to support patient self-care, reassurance and safety-netting, reducing the need for escalation. The study highlights the role of TYI-RTI in optimizing pharmacy-led RTI management and reducing pressure on wider healthcare services. Incentivization was an effective tool for improving AMS in community pharmacy at pace.