Background and Importance Pharmacist-led vaccination services are an opportunity to improve patient access to vaccination and improve uptake.

Aim and Objectives To assess drivers for pharmacist-led vaccination services and to understand patient expectations and pharmacist-preparedness for pharmacist-led vaccination services.

Material and Methods Two self-administered questionnaires were developed and validated; one for pharmacists and the other for general public. The pharmacist questionnaire evaluated knowledge and skills on the preparation and administration of vaccines and service provision. The patient questionnaire evaluated vaccine education and administration by pharmacists. The questionnaires were distributed electronically (n=40 pharmacists; n=140 patients) and physically from 2 community pharmacies and snowball sampling (n=22 pharmacists; n=23 patients).

Results Pharmacist questionnaire (N=62): 45 female, 17 male, 23–69 years, where 19 pharmacists prefer to administer vaccines to the adult group over the paediatric group (n=3). Pharmacists are aware of errors during preparation and administration of vaccines (n=31), as well as contraindications (n=45), the current national guidelines (n=42) and the procedure of vaccine storage (n=58). Community pharmacists agreed that it is feasible to carry out vaccination services at the pharmacy (n=47), some of whom stated that the premises require further modifications (n=28). Pharmacists commented on the importance of proper training for the service to be carried out efficiently.

Patient questionnaire (N=163): 97 female, 66 male, 18–70+ years, where 102 patients approach pharmacists with concerns on varying aspects including side effects, general information, concerns, uses and other information regarding vaccines, 71 reported that they were satisfied with the pharmacist’s responses, and 146 trust the pharmacist to administer the influenza vaccine. Seventy-five patients are willing to pay €5 for the service provided by pharmacists, and 37 patients are not willing to pay.

Conclusion and Relevance The drivers that contribute to the implementation of pharmacist-led vaccination services include patient expectations and the level of preparedness among pharmacists.

Conflict of Interest No conflict of interest.