Boots Ireland have announced the launch of the Velieve Cystitis Test & Treat service – an innovative private service that includes a urine self-testing kit and an app from Healthy.io, which turns your smartphone camera into a clinical-grade analyser.
Once the urine dipstick test is complete, the test will be reviewed by a healthcare professional and, if appropriate, a prescription for an antibiotic will be issued.
The announcement follows research from Boots Ireland which has revealed that over half (51%) of women in Ireland have experienced the symptoms of cystitis or another form of a urinary tract infection (UTI) before.
The primary symptoms that prompt women in Ireland to seek medical advice are feeling pain, burning or stinging sensations when urinating (78%), urine containing traces of blood (71%) or needing to urinate frequently and urgently, but only passing small amounts of urine (57%).
Almost 1 in 5 (19%) of the women surveyed claim to develop symptoms of cystitis or a UTI at least twice a year, particularly those aged 18-34 (35%), and while the vast majority of women (90%) are comfortable visiting their GP for the diagnosis and treatment of cystitis or UTI’s, 2 in 5 (40%) have had time off work to attend a medical appointment.
Velieve is the second UTI test-and-treat service created by Healthy.io and uses a smartphone camera and machine learning to help test for UTIs in just minutes. The company launched its pharmacy first test-and-treat service with Boots in 2019.
Boots Pharmacist, Heather Feeney says: “There is a growing need to use technology to diagnose a variety of medical issues, particularly in light of COVID-19, in order to help reduce some pressure on GPs and the wider health system.
"Mild cases of cystitis may clear up on their own within a few days, but some cases may need treatment. The introduction of this service shows the enhanced role that community pharmacies can play, while also highlighting the excellent clinical skills our pharmacists can offer to support patients’ health in locations and at times that are convenient to them.”
The Velieve Cystitis Test & Treat service is currently exclusive to Boots amongst retailers and costs €35 for the test kit, a review of the test by a medical doctor via the Velieve app and a prescription, if required, and excludes treatment.
Image: Boots Pharmacist Heather Feeney
