Antimicrobial stewardship in community pharmacy

The Responding to urinary tract symptoms in England’s community pharmacies study has recently been published. The use of Treating your infection leaflets was incentivised in the pharmacy quality scheme (PQS) 2022-23 and supports community pharmacy teams to differentiate between symptoms more likely to be associated with urinary tract infections and those that could be managed with self-care. The findings suggest that most women presenting to community pharmacies with urinary symptoms were likely to have self-limiting symptoms, and can be suitably managed with self-care, pain relief, and appropriate safety netting. This criterion is being repeated in the PQS 2023-24.