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Business of Medicine, Doctors, Health Products, Healthcare, Healthcare Products, Healthcare Professionals, Medicine, Online, Pharmaceuticals

Study Reveals Worrying Results On Sexually Transmitted Infections

According to a new study of sexual health from Lloydspharmacy – 72% of men have never had an STI screen, compared to 62% of women. Lloydspharmacy also found men were almost twice as likely to test positive for certain STIs such as chlamydia.

13% of men buying chlamydia tests from Lloydspharmacy’s Online Doctor tested positive compared to just six per cent of women.

The research from the community pharmacy chain also found that men are placing themselves at greater risk of picking up an STI with 13% of men having had unprotected sex with more than one person over the last five years, almost double that of women (7%).

With the research revealing that men are more reluctant to be tested but significantly more likely to test positive than women, the findings fuel concerns that men may be delaying testing until they are showing symptoms and that real rates of infection are significantly higher than reported.

Although men are less likely to have had a face-to-face consultation for an STI screen, according to Lloydspharmacy sales of tests online are split almost equally between men and women. This suggests that men prefer the anonymity of the online channel.

Through its Online Doctor service the community pharmacy chain has launched a postal Platinum Test for men which screens for five genital infections; genital Chlamydia, genital gonorrhoea, mycoplasma, ureaplasma and trichomonas. This confidential postal service allows men to be tested and if found to be positive, treated without the need to visit their GP.

“The lower rate of face-to-face testing and higher incidence of positive results amongst men suggests that many men may be waiting until they suspect they have an infection before getting themselves tested”, said Clare Kerr, Lloydspharmacy’s head of sexual health. “This is particularly worrying as many STIs don’t have any obvious symptoms, so men could be putting both themselves and their partners at risk by delaying tests.”

“Embarrassment is a huge barrier to testing and so we hope that removing the need to see a GP or GUM clinic face-to-face will encourage men to test themselves regularly. We can provide accurate tests for a wide range of genital infections anonymously and discreetly through the Online Doctor.”

Via EPR Network
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Business of Medicine, Doctors, Health Products, Healthcare, Healthcare Products, Healthcare Professionals, Medicine, Online, Pharmaceuticals

Report Says Young Women Becoming More Sexually Active

According to new figures released by the sexual health team at Lloydspharmacy*, today’s women have three times more sexual partners by the time they reach 24 than women of their grandmothers’ generation had by the same age.

The sexual health team’s results show that young women today have an average of 5.65 different sexual partners by the time they are 24. By contrast women of their grandmothers’ generation had an average of 1.67 and women of their mothers’ generation had 3.72 sexual partners by the same age.

Looking back over the decades since the War and the end of rations, the research shows that young women in the supposedly ‘Swinging Sixties’ had the least number of different sexual partners whilst young women in the ‘Noughties’ had the most.

Cancer Research UK statistics show that incidence rates of cervical cancer in women under the age of 25 have not decreased despite better screening**. Lloydspharmacy believes the increase in the number of sexual partners could be one reason why.

The last ten years have seen significant decreases in cervical cancer cases in women in older age groups but worryingly, diagnoses of the infection in women under the age of 25 have not followed the same trend**.

The community pharmacy chain is urging women of all age groups to get themselves protected against the human papilloma virus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection and one of the major causes of cervical cancer***.

“HPV infections are very common, especially in younger people”, said Clare Kerr, Lloydspharmacy’s head of sexual health. “If you are sexually active the cervical cancer vaccinations is one of the most effective ways to prevent infection with high risk forms of HPV.”

Women can receive cervical cancer vaccinations at 240 Lloydspharmacy branches throughout the UK. Other sexual health services available at Lloydpsharmacy branches or through the Online Doctor services on the website include genital Chlamydia and genital gonorrhea treatment.

Key research* insights for women between the ages of 18 and 24:
2000-2009 – women averaged over five different sexual partners, with 8% claiming to have had more than ten different partners
1990-1999 – women averaged under five different sexual partners
1980-1989 – 24% of women had three to five different sexual partners by the time they reached 24
1970-1979 – 24% of women had two to four different sexual partners by the age of 24
1960-1969 – almost 50 per cent had only one sexual partner by the age of 24

Via EPR Network
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Business of Medicine, Diseases, Doctors, Health Products, Healthcare, Healthcare Products, Healthcare Professionals, Medicine, Online, Pharmaceuticals

Swine Flu Could Trigger Boom In Remote Diagnosis

Lloydspharmacy has revealed a new report that suggests the government’s use of the internet and call centres to deal with the swine flu pandemic could pave the way for a rapid growth in remote diagnosis and prescriptions. This was just one of the conclusions found in the report by the Future Foundation.

Judith Kleine Holthause, the report’s lead author, said:”Despite its clinical shortcomings, the use of the internet and call centres for diagnosing swine flu and distributing medication demonstrates that remote diagnosis can be an efficient way of dealing with certain conditions.”

The Future Foundation forecasts that 37% of people will be using the web for medical information by 2020 (up from 14% in 2009) and that a variety of social and economic factors will lead to a substantial market for online diagnosis and prescriptions in the future.

The report, commissioned by Lloydspharmacy, coincides with the roll-out of ‘virtual GPs’ into 300 of the chain’s pharmacies. Lloydspharmacy has pioneered online diagnosis and prescription.

Now the chain has innovated again by allowing customers to walk into a pharmacy, consult with a doctor from a computer terminal and walk out with their prescriptions a few minutes later.

Andy Murdock, pharmacy relations and governance director of Lloydspharmacy, said: “The face to face consultation will remain at the heart of primary care, but for an increasing array of conditions, remote services provide a viable alternative.

“Right now these include lifestyle conditions such as impotence and hair loss, embarrassing conditions such as STIs, contraception and certain minor ailments such as cystitis. But the list could expand considerably in the future.”

However the report’s authors warn that regulation will be critical if privately run diagnosis and prescription services are to grow. At present only one online doctor service is registered with the Care Quality Commission explicitly to manage patients remotely. That service, Dr Thom, also provides the GP component of the Lloydspharmacy service.

There is no question that consumers are receptive to the concept. Forty eight per cent of respondents to a poll conducted for the Future Foundation said they were interested in online diagnosis and 56% said they were interested in online prescriptions.

Holthaus added: “In certain areas consumers welcome regulation. Concerns about counterfeit medicines, bogus doctors and commercial motivations will inevitably act as a brake on consumer confidence in remote diagnosis services. We believe that more regulation, monitoring and control will be crucial to the further development of this market.

“There are strong arguments for why the NHS might embrace remote diagnosis as a complementary method to ensure sufficient delivery of satisfactory health care in the future. If regulated and monitored appropriately remote diagnoses and prescriptions could benefit the healthcare system in similar ways as remote services have helped the banking system.”

The Lloydspharmacy Online Doctor service is run in conjunction with online health experts Dr Thom, who adhere to the General Medical Council’s guidelines on remote prescribing. Patients log on for an online questionnaire-based consultation with a GP. If clinically appropriate the GP writes a prescription and the treatment is dispensed by post for next day delivery.

Via EPR Network
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