A busy Saturday can make Pharmacy First feel like a constant stream of consultations, referrals and interruptions. Pharmacy First reporting metrics turn that activity into evidence: where demand is coming from, how much team time it requires, what happens to each consultation and whether the service is supporting the wider pharmacy business.
The aim is not to create another admin task. It is to give owners, pharmacists and branch managers a clear picture of service delivery so they can make sensible decisions on staffing, stock, training and counter workflow.
Start with Pharmacy First reporting metrics that answer a decision
A report is only useful when someone knows what they will do differently after reading it. Looking at total consultations may confirm that the service is busy, but it will not explain whether demand is concentrated on particular days, whether referrals are being completed promptly or whether a particular pathway is causing pressure.
Set a regular review rhythm, usually weekly for operational decisions and monthly for trends. Compare like with like where possible. A four-week period is often more useful than a single exceptional week, particularly during seasonal illness peaks or local GP access pressures.
Your reporting should distinguish between clinical service records and operational management information. The PMR or approved clinical system remains the source for the consultation record and any required NHS submission. EPOS and business reporting can add valuable context, such as service prompts, counter activity, retail patterns and staffing pressure, without becoming a substitute for the clinical record.
The core measures to track
The best measures give a balanced view. Focusing only on volume can encourage speed at the expense of a good patient interaction. Focusing only on outcomes can hide the workload involved in reaching them.
Consultation volume and pathway mix
Start with the number of Pharmacy First consultations completed, then break it down by clinical pathway. This shows whether the service is being used as expected in your community and whether certain conditions create disproportionate demand.
Track consultations by day and time as well. A branch may find that demand clusters after local GP surgeries close, around school collection times or on Monday mornings. That information can help managers plan pharmacist cover, organise counter handovers and avoid leaving one team member to manage both service enquiries and a queue at the till.
For groups, compare branches carefully. A higher total does not necessarily mean better performance. Catchment area, local surgery arrangements, opening hours and patient awareness all affect demand.
Referral source and patient journey
Record how patients arrive at the service where your systems support this: GP practice, NHS 111, walk-in, local campaign or another healthcare professional. This shows which relationships are generating demand and whether patients understand when Pharmacy First is appropriate.
A high number of walk-ins can be positive, but it may also mean counter colleagues need clearer prompts for eligibility and signposting. A sharp rise in referrals from one source may require a conversation about expected volumes, consultation capacity and the information patients are being given before they arrive.
Look beyond the initial referral. Measure how many patients are seen, redirected because they are outside the service criteria, referred onwards, supplied under the relevant pathway or advised on self-care. This provides a more realistic account of the work completed than a headline consultation total.
Consultation outcomes and onward referrals
Outcome data matters because it identifies both patient need and process issues. A high onward-referral rate is not automatically a problem. It may reflect appropriate clinical judgement, a complex patient population or a pathway that is receiving many borderline cases.
It does, however, deserve attention when it changes suddenly. Review the reason for referral, the time of day, the pathway and whether patients were screened correctly at the counter. The answer may be additional team training, a clearer script for service enquiries or simply a better understanding of what is happening locally.
Avoid using outcome measures as a crude league table. Safe decisions and appropriate escalation are signs of good pharmacy practice. The useful question is whether trends are understood and whether the team has the tools to manage eligible patients efficiently and safely.
Time, workload and capacity
Consultation count alone can understate the pressure on a pharmacy. Track when a consultation is logged, when it begins and when it is completed if that information is available in your workflow. Even a simple local record of time bands can reveal whether consultations are regularly delayed at peak periods.
Also consider the wider workload around each consultation: patient identification, PMR checks, clinical assessment, product supply, documentation, payment activity and any onward referral. If counter staff spend significant time locating information or explaining the process before the pharmacist becomes involved, that is a workflow issue worth solving.
A pharmacy-specific EPOS setup can support this by making relevant patient and service information easier to access at the counter, while prompts help the team spot suitable opportunities. The benefit is not just faster transactions. It is fewer avoidable interruptions and more time for a considered patient conversation.
Stock availability and supply patterns
Pharmacy First can expose weak points in stock control quickly. Review the items and categories most commonly needed for consultations, along with missed supply opportunities caused by unavailable stock. An occasional out-of-stock situation may be unavoidable. A recurring pattern suggests reorder levels, supplier choices or stock visibility need attention.
There is a trade-off. Holding extra stock ties up cash and creates expiry risk, particularly where demand is uneven. Use actual consultation and sales data to guide decisions rather than building a large stockholding on assumption. For some branches, supplier ordering frequency and quick access to alternatives will matter more than deeper stock levels.
Commercial context without losing sight of care
Pharmacy First is a patient service first, but owners still need to understand its commercial effect. Report the service alongside retail footfall, transaction value, relevant category sales and payment data. This can show whether service activity brings new patients into the pharmacy, creates additional appropriate purchases or places pressure on counter capacity at the busiest times.
Treat this data with care. Do not assume that every consultation should lead to a retail sale, and never allow commercial targets to influence clinical advice. The value of the analysis is operational: it helps the pharmacy resource the service properly and understand the full contribution it makes to patient care and branch activity.
Turn data into practical action
A useful monthly review should produce a short list of actions, not a long spreadsheet. If consultations spike between 4 pm and 6 pm, consider whether trained counter cover, clearer queue management or pharmacist time can be adjusted. If a pathway produces frequent ineligible presentations, refresh team questioning and local patient messaging.
If stock-related missed supplies appear repeatedly, check product mapping, reorder points and supplier availability. If one branch has lower activity than comparable sites, investigate local awareness, referral relationships and whether staff are consistently offering the service where appropriate.
MedEpos reporting can help bring service activity, sales and stock information into one clearer operational view. The point is to reduce the time spent compiling figures from separate systems, so managers can focus on what the figures mean.
Make the figures trustworthy
Reporting is only as dependable as the information entered at the point of care. Agree simple, consistent definitions across the team. For example, decide what counts as a completed consultation, an onward referral, an unavailable item and a missed opportunity. For multi-site pharmacies, use the same definitions in every branch.
Build checks into the routine rather than waiting for month-end. A quick weekly review can identify missing fields, duplicate entries or unusual changes before they become embedded in the data. Keep access controlled, protect patient information and use aggregated reporting for management discussions wherever individual-level detail is not required.
It also helps to give every metric an owner. The pharmacist may review clinical outcomes, a manager may look at workload and service patterns, and the owner or regional lead may assess stock and commercial trends. Shared reporting works best when accountability is clear but the learning is discussed together.
The strongest Pharmacy First reporting does not ask teams to chase numbers for their own sake. It gives them evidence to protect consultation time, keep the right stock available, improve the patient journey and run a more confident pharmacy operation.