Pharmacist Primary Care

The post holder will take responsibility for areas of chronic disease management within the practice and undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage patients with complex polypharmacy. Additionally, to engage with medicines optimisation, MHRA, medication reviews and quality improvement and manage some aspects of the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services. You will also help in the management of patients and informing them of relevant investigations and actions. The post holder will provide primary support to general practice staff with regards to prescription and medication queries. They will help support the repeat prescription system, deal with acute prescription requests, and medicines reconciliation on transfer of care and systems for safer prescribing, providing expertise in clinical medicines advice. Responsibilities and Duties

Patient facing long-term condition clinics

See (where appropriate) patients with single or multiple medical problems where medicine optimisation is required (e.g. COPD, asthma). Review the on-going need for each medicine, a review of monitoring needs and an opportunity to support patients with their medicines taking ensuring they get the best use of their medicines (i.e. medicines optimisation). Make appropriate recommendations to GPs for medicine improvement. Patient facing clinical medication review and relaying of resultsd and actions Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for senior clinical pharmacist, nurses and/or GP on prescribing and monitoring. Patient facing care home medication reviews and visits: Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for the senior clinical pharmacist, nurses or GPs on prescribing and monitoring. Work with care home staff to improve safety of medicines ordering and administration. Patient facing domiciliary clinical medication review: Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for nurses and GPs on prescribing and monitoring..

Management of common/minor/self-limiting ailments

Managing caseload of patients with common/minor/self-limiting ailments while working within a scope of practice and limits of competence. Signposting to community pharmacy and referring to GPs or other healthcare professionals where appropriate

Patient facing medicines support

Provide patient facing clinics for those with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines in the practice

Telephone medicines support

Provide a telephone help line for patients with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines. Medicine information to practice staff and patients: Answers relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines. Suggesting and recommending solutions. Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes

Unplanned hospital admissions

Review the use of medicines most commonly associated with unplanned hospital admissions and readmissions through audit and individual patient reviews. Put in place changes to reduce the prescribing of these medicines to highrisk patient groups. Management of medicines at discharge from hospital: To reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into care homes, including identifying and rectifying unexplained changes and working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge. Set up and manage systems to ensure continuity of medicines supply to highrisk groups of patients (e.g. those with medicine compliance aids or those in care homes).

Signposting

Ensure that patients are referred to the appropriate healthcare professional for the appropriate level of care within an appropriate period of time e.g. pathology results, common/minor ailments, acute conditions, long term condition reviews etc.

Repeat prescribing

Produce and implement a practice repeat prescribing policy. Manage the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requests for repeat prescriptions and reviewing medicines reaching review dates and flagging up those needing a review. Ensure patients have appropriate monitoring tests in place when required.

Risk stratification

Identification of cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through pre-prepared practice computer searches

Medicines quality improvement

Undertake clinical audits Medicines safety

Implement changes to medicines that result from MHRA alerts, product withdrawal and other local and national guidance. Implementation of local and national guidelines and formulary recommendations: Monitor practice prescribing Auditing practices compliance against NICE technology assessment guidance.

Care Quality Commission

Work with the general practice team to ensure the practice is compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.

Public health

To support public health campaigns.