ArticleBMC health services research2014
"It's easier in pharmacy": why some patients prefer to pay for flu jabs rather than use the National Health Service.
Article in BMC health services research, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 78 citations in OpenAlex.
- Patient and public perspectives of community pharmacies in the United Kingdom: A systematic review.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2018Pooled it
- Pharmacist-Led Flu Vaccination Services in Romanian Community Pharmacies: Barriers, Perceptions, and Implementation Challenges.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Strategies for introducing and implementing vaccines for adults into national immunization programs in Europe: Good practices and key insights of the adult immunization board meeting.Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics · 2025Article
- Public Knowledge and Beliefs Regarding Pharmacy-Based Immunization in Poland-A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study, 2024.Vaccines · 2024Article
- European community pharmacists practice in tackling influenza.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2024Review
- Article
- Pharmacists' perceptions of the new pharmaceutical vaccination service in Romania: a comprehensive first two-years evaluation.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Understanding the gap between guidelines and influenza vaccination coverage in people with diabetes: a scoping review.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Article
- Will the Public Engage with New Pharmacy Roles? Assessing Future Uptake of a Community Pharmacy Health Check Using a Discrete Choice Experiment.The patient · 2022Article
- Community pharmacists workforce readiness to deliver vaccination services: A cross-sectional study from Jordan.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2022Article
- Article
- Exploring determinants of community pharmacist-led influenza vaccination in a Middle Eastern country: a national web-based cross-sectional study.Journal of pharmaceutical policy and practice · 2021Article
- Transferring Key Success Factors from Ambulatory Care into the Community Pharmacy in the United States.Pharmacy (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Rapid realist review of the role of community pharmacy in the public health response to COVID-19.BMJ open · 2021Review
- Flu Vaccinations in Pharmacies-A Review of Pharmacists Fighting Pandemics and Infectious Diseases.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Review
- A Review of the Pharmacist as Vaccinator.Innovations in pharmacy · 2019Review
- Evaluation of patient satisfaction and experience towards pharmacist-administered vaccination services in Western Australia.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2018Article
- Article
- Evaluation of the impact of immunization policies, including the addition of pharmacists as immunizers, on influenza vaccination coverage in Nova Scotia, Canada: 2006 to 2016.BMC public health · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is a need to increase flu vaccination rates in England particularly among those under 65 years of age and at risk because of other conditions and treatments. Patients in at risk groups are eligible for free vaccination on the National Health Service (NHS) in England, but despite this, some choose to pay privately. This paper explores how prevalent this is and why people choose to do it. There is moderate to good evidence from several countries that community pharmacies can safely provide a range of vaccinations, largely seasonal influenza Immunisation. Pharmacy-based services can extend the reach of immunisation programmes. User, doctor and pharmacist satisfaction with these services is high.
methodData were collected during the 2012-13 flu season as part of a community pharmacy private flu vaccination service to help identify whether patients were eligible to have their vaccination free of charge on the NHS. Additional data were collected from a sample of patients accessing the private service within 13 pharmacies to help identify the reasons patients paid when they were eligible for free vaccination.
resultsData were captured from 89,011 privately paying patients across 479 pharmacies in England, of whom 6% were eligible to get the vaccination free. 921 patients completed a survey in the 13 pharmacies selected. Of these, 199 (22%) were eligible to get their flu vaccination for free. 131 (66%) were female. Average age was 54 years. Of the 199 patients who were eligible for free treatment, 100 (50%) had been contacted by their GP surgery to go for their vaccination, but had chosen not to go. Reasons given include accessibility, convenience and preference for pharmacy environment.
conclusionsWhile people at risk can access flu vaccinations free via the NHS, some choose to pay privately because they perceive that community pharmacy access is easier. There are opportunities for pharmacy to support the NHS in delivering free flu vaccinations to patients at risk by targeting people unlikely to access the service at GP surgeries.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.