Evaluating the role of primary care pharmacy technicians in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and acne management using TARGET resources

Alishah Lakha; Naomi Fleming; Kimberly Sonnex; Tracey Thornley; Claire Anderson; Kieran Hand; Diane Ashiru-Oredope

doi:10.1093/jacamr/dlae011

Evaluating the role of primary care pharmacy technicians in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and acne management using TARGET resources

JAC Antimicrob Resist. 2024 Feb 7;6(1):dlae011. doi: 10.1093/jacamr/dlae011. eCollection 2024 Feb.

Authors

Alishah Lakha¹, Naomi Fleming¹, Kimberly Sonnex², Tracey Thornley², Claire Anderson², Kieran Hand¹, Diane Ashiru-Oredope³

Affiliations

¹ NHS England, London, UK.
² Divison of Pharmacy Practice and Policy, University of Nottingham, School of Pharmacy, Nottingham, UK.
³ UK Health Security Agency, London, UK.

Abstract

Background: Inappropriate antibiotic prescribing is accelerating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) (Antibiotic resistant infections and associated deaths increase https://www.gov.uk/government/news/antibiotic-resistant-infections-and-associated-deaths-increase). Pharmacy professionals (pharmacists and pharmacy technicians) promote good antibiotic prescribing practice. The traditional role of pharmacy technicians in supporting pharmacists and patients has expanded alongside the clinical expansion of pharmacist roles. (Boughen M, Fenn T. Practice, skill mix and education: the evolving role of pharmacy technicians in Great Britain. Pharmacy (Basel) 2020; 8(2): 50. doi:10.3390/pharmacy8020050) This paper focuses on the opinion of pharmacy technicians and their role in the review of acne management and the evaluation of the UKHSA TARGET acne 'How to…' review resources.

Aims and objectives: To explore the impact of the TARGET resources on the capability, opportunity and motivation of pharmacy technicians in general practice in managing patients with acne.To evaluate the usefulness of the acne 'How to…' review resources.

Materials and methods: A primarily quantitative study using an electronic survey asking UK-based pharmacy technicians to rate their agreement on a five-point Likert scale with 21 predefined statements, themed on the COM-B model and usefulness of the TARGET resources for acne.

Discussion: The survey found that capability and opportunity in managing acne in the group familiar with TARGET resources was higher than the group not familiar with TARGET resources. Scores for motivation in both groups were high; pharmacy technicians have the motivation to undertake infection management roles, whether or not they are familiar with the TARGET toolkit.The acne 'How to…' review resources were overall rated as useful in supporting the review of patients with acne.

Conclusion: The TARGET materials are effective resources that helps to upskill pharmacy technicians in the area of AMS, increasing capability and opportunity in the management of acne.