Variation within community pharmacy. 3. Referring customers to other health professionals

This paper reports on the process and outcome of referrals from pharmacy staff to other health professionals. Over the five day study period, staff in ten community pharmacies referred a total of 50 customers. Of these, 16 were directly referred and 34 were conditionally referred. Overall, one-quarter (50/221) of all customers presenting symptoms/minor ailments resulted in a referral. Of the 16 direct referrals, 15 were made by the pharmacist. The proportion of symptom presentations, which resulted in a direct referral (7 per cent), was comparable to other studies. In addition, we found marked variation between pharmacies in terms of the numher of referrals made. All referred customers were re-contacted by researchers. Of those directly referred, all but one person had made an appointment to visit the health professional concerned. Where customers were conditionally referred, we found that their symptoms had subsided in all cases.