pharmacies


THE MIDDLE MAN – IN A GOOD WAY With recent research suggesting that 40% of face-to-face GP appointments could be easily dealt with by carrying out online consultations, it goes without saying that there is much to be in done in the quest to reduce unnecessary appointments. It is common knowledge that pharmacists could deal with a number of the issues people go to their GP about – at least it’s well known within health circles. But are the patients themselves fully aware of how pharmacists can help and is enough being done to raise this awareness? Ash Soni, pharmacist and vice chair of the English Pharmacy Board, thinks perhaps not. “I suspect we probably don’t do enough of it,” he admits. So what’s the best way of doing this? “That’s a difficult question to answer. For example, in my case, my GP practice knows the services that we are able to offer and we work with our practices, so they will send patients to us.” Soni has a good working relationship with his local practice and they share the load with some of their services. “We do flu immunisations,” he explains, “they have their own clinics, but if they haven’t got capacity and someone walks in and needs the immunisation, they can just say: ‘Go over to the pharmacy and they’ll do it there for you.’” Being able to share the management of services like this is only really possible if pharmacists and GP practices talk to one another and in turn to their patients, says Soni: “I think what they need to do to start with is understand and talk to each other – to actually meet.” He believes that the best way of doing this is for GPs to contact pharmacies and invite them into clinical meetings – or even pharmacists approaching GPs and asking if they can come along. This face-to-face contact he believes is vital in creating an integrated approach to the two services and could promote better sharing of information. “When I have done an MUR [medicines use review], it would be ideal if when I do that MUR, it happens at about the same time that the GP is going through the clinical review,” explains Soni, “because then you’re cross-feeding the information. So if I do an MUR and the patient says that they don’t like the drug particularly, or that they only take it on certain days, that may be information that they won’t necessarily give to the GP. But if you provide that, then it becomes easier for the GP not to have to go through that questioning again – they have already got the information.” If patients are


14 february 2013


made aware via their surgery about what pharmacists can do, they are more likely to actually make use of their services because they have heard it from a trusted source.


A FRIENDLY FACE


There is great potential for pharmacists to build a good relationship with patients – pharmacies are local and easily accessible with no need to make an appointment. They may also be a useful platform for targeting patients who are reticent to make an appointment with the doctor. The informal setting of a chemist or pharmacy could help alleviate anxiety, allowing patients to talk to the pharmacist in a relaxed environment, gain a better understanding of their conditions and discuss whether a GP appointment is necessary. Andy Murdock, external relations and policy director for Lloyds Pharmacy, agrees: “Pharmacists are at the heart of community healthcare and can therefore often support GPs in delivering care. Many local pharmacies provide services which, when used in conjunction with regular visits to the GP, can benefit patients and also enable GPs to focus on more pressing medical matters.” By concentrating on specific conditions that are a particular drain on resources, pharmacies can have a more targeted effect. “This is particularly useful for patients who suffer from long-term health conditions, such as diabetes,” explains Murdock. Services, such as free blood pressure testing, which can be conveniently accessed by patients, supports the work of GPs and could potentially further spread the workload placed on practice nurses and healthcare assistants. “Repeat prescription services [and] services such as medicine use reviews give patients the opportunity to discuss how to get the best out of their medicines with a qualified pharmacist and, similarly, the New Medicine Service is really important in terms of helping those with long-term conditions understand their newly prescribed medicines and support them in making decisions about their treatment and self-management.” This also helps patients to keep on track during the gap between GP appointments and may prevent any issues occurring because of misuse. Pharmacists can find out if the patient is experiencing any problems with their medication, check that they are taking it at the right time and ask if there is anything that can be done to make it easier for them to take their drugs. This valuable information can then be used by


primary provider


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