The government must announce the reimbursement of these tests, which make it possible to determine whether the angina is viral or bacterial.
Eight minutes to find out if your sore throat is viral or bacterial: since 2013, pharmacists can perform this rapid test in their pharmacy. From next January 1st, these examinations will be reimbursed according to a article of Parisian. The measure must be announced on Monday, March 25, during the interministerial health committee.
Trained pharmacists
“Of the 4,200 pharmacists, nearly 600 of us have received this training and are authorized to do these tests. But it’s a very good idea to want to go further”, rejoices in The Parisian Martial Fraysse, president of the Ile-de-France regional council of the order of pharmacists. The examination consists of rubbing a kind of cotton swabs towards the patient’s tonsils, then waiting eight minutes, then the results are displayed: one line for viral angina, two lines for bacterial angina. In the last case, the pharmacist advises the patient to consult a doctor for antibiotics, in the first, he provides him with an appropriate treatment based on analgesics. The test kit costs around ten euros.
Reduce unnecessary use of antibiotics
For the government, the objective of this measure is to reduce unnecessary prescriptions of antibiotics. While the resistance of bacteria to these drugs is a threat to global health, 8% of French people declared in a survey that they had already taken them for self-medication. The other positive effect must be to fight against overcrowding in medical practices.
Delivery of vaccines and drugs
Pharmacists are authorized to carry out two tests in addition to that of angina: blood sugar and flu. It is enough to be equipped with a “confidential space” to be authorized to perform them in a pharmacy and to follow a training course. Last week, MPs authorized pharmacists to prescribe certain drugs to treat benign pathologies, including angina or cystitis. This should make it possible to “troubleshoot” patients in the event of an emergency. To strengthen vaccination coverage, they will also be able to deliver certain vaccines, without a doctor’s prescription. The High Authority for Health will be in charge of establishing the list of vaccines concerned.
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