Supermarkets outperforming independents on Pharmacy First consultations

There are opportunities for independent pharmacies to provide more Pharmacy First consultations as supermarkets outperform the rest of the sector, market intelligence company IQVIA has suggested.

But independents complete the most blood pressure checks and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), exceeding the market average.

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And regional chains and distance selling pharmacies share the top spot for the new medicines service (NMS) consultations, according to IQVIA analysis of NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) dispensing data for January 2025.

Overall, independent pharmacies tend to provide fewer services than other providers, IQVIA senior director Chris Pilsbury suggested during a presentation at the Sigma conference 2025 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

‘There's more opportunity for the number of independent pharmacies to provide those services,’ he suggested.

Although he acknowledged ‘the number of services per store is very high across most of those services, except the Pharmacy First’.

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Mr Pilsbury also drew attention to the impact of cost pressures on community pharmacies.

‘The price conscious customers are looking to get medicines as cost effectively as they can,’ he said.

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And he noted that at least 80% of community pharmacies use four or more suppliers, while 8.5% of pharmacies use between eight and 11 suppliers.

‘What we are seeing is a real result of the challenges from a sustainability perspective that community pharmacy is facing,’ Mr Pilsbury said.