Community pharmacies have proven that they can effectively screen patients for coeliac disease, in a study published in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy.

At 15 pharmacies that took part in the study, patients accessing OTC and prescription medicines for IBS, diarrhoea, other GI problems and anaemias were offered a free point-of-care test for coeliac disease. Of the 551 individuals tested, 9.4 per cent were given a positive result potentially indicating coeliac disease. All patients were given advice about their results and those who tested positive were advised to make an appointment with their GP.

The six-month study was funded by Coeliac UK, supported by Tillotts Pharma, Rowlands, Jhoots, Cranston Pharmacy and Pinnacle Health Partnership. It was project managed by the National Association of Primary Care.

All the patients who returned the satisfaction survey said they would recommend the service to others, believing the community pharmacy to be a suitable location for testing. Community pharmacists believed that it enabled them to improve relationships with their customers and that medical practices were receptive to the service.

Sarah Sleet, chief executive of Coeliac UK, said: “We are thrilled with the results of the study which clearly shows the importance and value of utilising the expertise of community pharmacists. However, we are worried that the announcement by the Government to significantly cut funding to community pharmacists and the barriers imposed by the inflexibility of NHS structures, will impede the wider introduction of this approach. The direct costs associated with undiagnosed coeliac disease are increased visits to the GP, use of medicines for symptomatic treatment, increased investigations and referral which all cost the NHS more in the long run, while the patient pays the price of reduced quality of life as misdiagnosis can mean an average wait of 13 years to get diagnosed.”

NAPC president James Kingsland said: “Traditionally the identification and implementation of targeted screening has solely been the role of primary care physicians. They are however only able to identify patients who present to them for treatment and advice. It is more usual for patients with general gastrointestinal symptoms to self-treat with therapy which is available from pharmacies and supermarkets, which is why community pharmacists are ideally placed to offer the finger prick testing, along with information and advice for those customers and help find the missing half a million people in the UK currently undiagnosed with coeliac disease and get them onto their diagnosis journey.”