A Comparative Study of the Cost and Uptake of Community Pharmacy “Stop Smoking and Emergency Contraception” Services from the Perspective of the National Health Service

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to explore if the community pharmacy (CP) stop smoking service (SSS) and emergency hormonal contraception patient group direction (EHC PGD) meet the needs of the English population and are cost-effective. METHODS: This research was completed over 2 years. Public health resources provided details of CPs and provision of SSS and EHC PGD. Questionnaires were sent to smoking cessation/sexual health leads in local authorities to obtain information not available elsewhere. Questionnaires inquired about CP payment for provision of SSS and EHC PGD, overhead costs, successful outcomes, and validation methods. Quit rates at 4-weeks, 52-weeks, and lifetime determined SSS effectiveness. The effectiveness of EHC PGD was based on the probability of unintended pregnancy with/without levonorgestrel. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio and cost of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained were calculated. Descriptive statistics were determined. A priori of less than 0.05 (P < 0.05) was significant. FINDINGS: SSS provision and uptake did not match local needs (smoking prevalence) even though increased CP SSS provision correlated with increased SSS success. Similarly, the need (based on teenage pregnancy rates) for EHC PGD did not correlate with the rate of CP provision but only with the uptake. Nevertheless, the provision of SSS and EHC PGD from CPs was cost-effective from an NHS perspective. Various assumptions were tested, but in all cases fell well below NICE QALY recommendations for cost-effectiveness. CONCLUSION: Provision of SSS and EHC PGD from CP does not meet the needs of the population even though the delivery of these services is cost-effective.