The community pharmacy model for colorectal cancer screening: Policy insights from a national programme

In Italy, a recent national project has expanded local collaboration between colorectal (CRC) screening programmes and pharmacies to the national level.

The objective of this study is to provide an overview of the existing agreements between regional authorities and pharmacy owners in Italy regarding CRC screening programmes, to make internationally available the most qualifying elements of the collaboration.

We analyzed the agreements, in force on 01/08/2021, arranged between the Regions and their respective pharmacy owners, describing the process phases addressed such as the faecal occult blood test pathway and supplementary activities provided by the pharmacies together with the CRC screening kit delivery.

Agreements were received from 18 Regions (86% of the total). The amount of money paid for each kit varies a lot, with a range from 0 to 18 EUR. The number of process phases covered by the agreements ranged from a maximum of 16 (out of 18) to a minimum of 0. The processes most frequently covered were the supply/delivery of kits and education/awareness of CRC screening (68.8%). Less covered processes were warehouse management and awareness of other healthcare initiatives (12.5%), and delivery of preparation for intestinal cleansing (6.3%).

Arrangements between pharmacies and CRC screening programmes in Italy vary widely and lack a unified model. Collaboration quality standards should be set at the national/international level.