Are we making the most of clinical pharmacists?

Medacy has been a part of the primary care landscape since 2014, initially supporting the Heartbeat GP Federation in North Yorkshire. Over the years, we have evolved our services to support individual GP Practices and, from 2019, Primary Care Networks (PCNs.). This evolution is a testament to our commitment to adapting to the changing needs of the healthcare landscape, ensuring we always provide the best possible support.

Background

In 2014, there were very few primary care pharmacists, fewer primary care pharmacists with a Prescribing qualification, and even fewer Primary care Pharmacists actually using their prescribing qualifications!

Since the formation of PCNs in 2019 and the Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway, thousands of pharmacists have moved to primary Care and completed the PCPEP, followed by a non-Medical Practitioner Qualification. This extensive training should equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively contribute to patient care.

Can a clinical pharmacist with IP qualifications can reauthorise medication?

So, I was surprised and a little disappointed yesterday when I spoke to an experienced PCN Manager who asked if a clinical pharmacist with IP qualifications can reauthorise medication and add medications to eRD!

It’s not the first time that a PCN manager has asked me this type of question, and it worries me when we are at a time when GPs may be given more control over how PCN budgets are spent and distributed. Can an IP Pharmacist reauthorise medication after completing a medication review? Of course, they can. The IP Pharmacist who has completed a 5-year degree, the 18-month PCPEP, and the 6-12 month IP qualification is the perfect person to complete the reauthorise the repeat prescription.

At Medacy, we believe that clinical pharmacists should be responsible for all medication-related aspects of a patient’s care after diagnosis.

Now that we have this cohort of highly trained clinical pharmacists working in primary care, we need to increase our expectations of what they can achieve. We need to maximise their potential as a team of medication experts so that when those GPs decide where to spend the ARRS funding, they first think of clinical pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

Contact Medacy

Talk to Medacy about how you can make the most of your clinical pharmacy team.