Looks like the trial is progressing well, $$$$$$$$$.The feedback...

Looks like the trial is progressing well, $$$$$$$$$.

The feedback so far from the trial is that there is a great level of acceptance and appreciation for the convenience of mini medical clinics within pharmacies"



Boots pilots telemedicine machines


Zoe Smeaton



Boots is set to pilot telemedicine machines in two of its flagship stores, C+D understands.

Australian company Stirling Products said it would be piloting its specialist health clinics, which enable monitoring of patients vital signs, in one of the largest pharmacy chains in the UK for approximately two months.

If successful, the TeleMedCare machines could be rolled out in many of the groups UK pharmacies, Stirling Products said.

The TeleMedCare devices are interactive monitoring and diagnostics units designed to allow health status monitoring.

They enable health teams to take a range of measurements including blood pressure and temperature and possibly to provide remote consultations via video-conferencing and messaging capabilities.

The UK trial is the first time the devices have been used in pharmacies, Peter Boonen, managing director of Stirling Products, told C+D.

He said until now patients had used them to monitor their conditions from home and in care facilities.

Mr Boonen said he could not comment on which pharmacy chain was involved in the pilot, but Boots later confirmed that it was involved in the TeleMedCare pilot.

The feedback so far from the trial is that there is a great level of acceptance and appreciation for the convenience of mini medical clinics within pharmacies, Mr Boonen said.

Alastair Buxton, head of NHS Services at PSNC, said similar technology was already being used in some GP surgeries and he suggested such machines could be more widely used in pharmacies as the sector took on a more clinical role.

It gives us an interesting idea of what the future could look like, he said.