For pharmacy groups England
Clinical service KPIs for pharmacy groups: what to measure
A useful scorecard explains whether patients can access the service, whether work is completed safely and what resources it uses. Consultation volume alone cannot answer those questions.
Start with decisions, then choose measures
Ask what a manager should do differently after reading the report. If the decision is whether to add another session, demand and waiting information matter. If the concern is incomplete records, a count of video calls is a distraction. Limit the main scorecard to measures tied to a specific decision, with detail available for investigation.
NHS improvement guidance distinguishes outcome, process and balancing measures. The last category helps identify an unwanted effect elsewhere in the service. For a pharmacy group, a shorter consultation queue would need to be considered alongside any extra interruptions, unfinished work or access difficulties created for the on-site team and patients.
Write a measure dictionary
For each KPI, record its name, purpose, calculation, source, exclusions, owner and reporting interval. Define when the clock starts and stops for time measures. Decide how to handle missing timestamps and explain the difference between zero activity and missing data. Use the same definitions across sites before comparing their numbers.
For example, define a started consultation as the point at which the clinical encounter begins, not when a booking is created. Show appointment cancellations and technical failures separately. If software changes the meaning of an event, note the date and avoid silently comparing the new series with older figures as though nothing changed.
Measure access and completion separately
A compact access view can include enquiries, suitable appointments offered, time to an available appointment and patients unable to start. A completion view can show started consultations, completed clinical encounters and onward referrals. Explain whether a referral is included in your completion definition and apply that choice consistently.
An illustrative completion calculation is 36 completed encounters from 40 started, or 90%. It says nothing by itself about ten additional people who could not obtain or use an appointment. These are invented numbers to explain the denominator. They are not a Remote Pharmacist result or a recommended target.
Check the quality of the process
Ask the clinical lead to define appropriate record review and follow-up checks for each service. Management reporting might show whether required actions are completed, notifications remain unresolved or exceptions are awaiting review. Keep patient-level review in a controlled clinical process rather than circulating identifiable cases in a commercial scorecard.
Do not set a target that rewards supplying a medicine, retaining every patient in the service or avoiding referrals. Those choices must follow clinical need. A higher escalation rate might reflect appropriate caution or a different case mix. It requires clinical interpretation, not an automatic conclusion that a pharmacist or site is underperforming.
Add reliability, workload and cost
Track failed starts, interrupted calls and time to resolve recurring technical problems. Show the number of affected encounters as well as a percentage so readers can see the scale. Record on-site support time and administrative rework where those are material constraints, using a practical sample rather than burdensome continuous monitoring.
Compare actual costs with the defined activity they support. Cost per completed encounter should identify which costs and outcomes are included. Keep claimed, accepted and paid NHS activity distinct, and report timing differences. Use the consultation capacity plan to identify clinician time, local team support and room availability. Separate variable costs from fixed monthly overhead before comparing NHS service income with costs.
Review trends fairly and protect the information
Look at change over time before producing a league table. Record differences in opening hours, local demand, service mix, staffing and referral sources. A small site can swing between very different percentages after a handful of consultations. Display the count and denominator, and consider whether aggregation or a longer period gives a more meaningful picture.
Use anonymised or appropriately aggregated reporting where it meets the purpose, with particular care around small groups. At review meetings, agree one or two actions, their owners and the next check. Preserve the definition and context with the report so later readers understand what changed. A useful dashboard supports discussion and improvement; it does not replace clinical judgement or prove that a product caused an outcome.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best KPI for remote consultations?
There is no single best measure. Combine access, clinical process, reliability and resource use around the decision you need to make.
Can we compare all pharmacies using consultation totals?
Totals are useful activity data but need context. Compare service mix, operating time, demand and staffing before drawing conclusions about performance.
Sources & further reading
Checked against the following sources on 1 October 2026. Service rules and payments can change; use the current specification and Drug Tariff when making decisions.
- NHS England: outcome, process and balancing measures in improvement (page 36)
- GPhC: standards for registered pharmacies in Great Britain
This is business and service-planning information. It does not assess an individual patient, authorise a delivery model or replace local clinical and contractual decisions. Source checking is not a claim of independent clinical review.
Our editorial policy and corrections processSee it in your consultation room
A practical walkthrough, shaped around your team and the services you want to deliver.