EVALUATION OF NEW COMMUNITY SEXUAL HEALTH TELEPHONE PRESCRIBING SERVICE DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

ABSTRACT

Introduction Evaluation of effectiveness of new telephone prescribing service introduced during COVID-19 pandemic at two community sexual health centres. Service introduced to reduce infection risk for patients and staff and cater for patients requiring access to medications for common genitourinary conditions and contraception despite restrictions on face to face consultation. Methods 781 patients (age range 16-59 years) audited from two community sexual health centres. Data collected from September - November 2021 medication prescription records included patient age, gender, medication name and type and length of time (days) for prescription to be collected. Standard set to fulfil was >95% of medications collected from both sites and >95% collected within 14 days. Results 97.70% of patients collected medications from both sites. 96.01% collected medication within 14 days from site A and 95.14% collected medication within 14 days from site B. Average time taken to collect medication was 2.5 days. No found correlation between any particular medication type or patient demographic and associated longer collection time. P111 Table 1 Discussion First audit of new telephone prescribing service. Data showed effective service providing patients with medications via remote telephone consultation despite COVID-19 restrictions, with good compliance for collection. Evidence of minimal medication waste within the service. Community sexual health services able to navigate through difficulties of COVID-19 including increased demand with limited face to face consultation availability. Common prescribing services can be done remotely and effectively whilst acting as a tool for infection prevention control. Data indicates this service has multiple benefits for patients and staff so should continue post-pandemic. (Table Presented).