With various testing and screening offers in pharmacies, the health knowledge of the population can be significantly increased. At the same time, costs to the healthcare system are reduced. Pharmacies play a very important role in this.
In the Austrian Health Center, the 1,450 community pharmacies have a particularly important function: the supporting foundation. Every day, solutions to health complaints are sought – and found – in as many as 600,000 personal conversations. Whether self-medication or referral to an office for further clarification.
But it would be even better if the health problems that keep customers coming to the local pharmacy didn’t arise in the first place. Individual health literacy must therefore be increased and health prevention strengthened. And this is exactly where the more than 7,000 pharmacists come into play again: After the election of the National Council, the course is urgently needed to involve pharmacists even more closely in the field of prevention and preventive diagnostics. If politicians and social security were to make even more extensive and targeted use of the strengths of Austria’s 1,450 pharmacies, the costs of the healthcare system could be significantly reduced.
Tests and screenings in pharmacies
However, long-term treatment costs can only be reduced if possible diseases are detected as early and as quickly as possible. Evidence-based prevention offensives and a national prevention strategy are essential for this. Regardless of where they live and what their income is, everyone in Austria should have easy access to tests, screenings and, if necessary, appropriate care in pharmacies.
Heart weeks, vitamin D and blood sugar tests
Pharmacists are very willing to take active preventive measures. In Vienna, for example, a test campaign will be carried out from November 4 to 30 as part of the Heart Weeks to measure important cardiovascular parameters such as HbA1c, lipid profile and blood pressure (RR). In this way, risk factors for possible cardiovascular diseases should be discovered easily and without much effort and at the same time the health literacy of the population should be increased.
In Salzburg and Styria there were and are vitamin D tests in pharmacies, which were well received by the population. A very successful long-term sugar measuring campaign was carried out in Carinthia, during which numerous people with a tendency to possible diabetes were identified. Based on the established values, further investigation was ultimately recommended to those involved – and a lot of suffering was potentially saved. This will continue in the individual states and throughout Austria. Because the more than 7,000 pharmacists are not only important for the population when they have existing complaints, but also in advance!
Source: Krone
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