pharmacies
the GP. Soni explains: “Things like checking inhaler technique and being able to feed that back and saying to the surgery: ‘Actually, the patient really struggles with that type of device, have you thought about this because it will probably be easier for them to use?’ They are then less likely to end up in A&E, which of course is beneficial to surgeries, as they go over to CCGs, and their costs.”
A SAFETY NET Pharmacists can also play a vital part in minimising prescription errors. A study carried out last year by the General Medical Council found that at least five per cent of prescriptions contained errors made by GPs. Dr John Holden, an adviser at medical defence organisation MDDUS, says that the study highlighted that while prescribing errors are rare, they can have potentially serious consequences for patient care. Holden has been involved with a number of cases where doctors have been subject to fitness to practise proceedings due to prescribing errors – many of which he believes could have been easily avoided. “In one case a doctor prescribed methotrexate daily instead
It’s about recognising mutual coworking and co- production rather than being critical of each other
of weekly to an arthritis patient who became seriously unwell and required hospital treatment,” he recalls. “Other complaints relate to drugs that require close monitoring, such as anti-depressants being issued as repeat prescriptions without sufficient patient follow-up and monitoring. These errors could have been avoided if robust prescribing systems had been in place to monitor patients and ensure dosage information is accurate.” A recent study led by Tony Avery, a professor of primary healthcare at the University of Nottingham, showed that these types of errors could be reduced by introducing a pharmacist intervention scheme. He said: “We know that GPs are aware of the risks of the drugs most commonly associated with adverse events, but errors do occur… We
16 february 2013
believe that there is an urgent need to roll out pharmacist-led intervention to general practices throughout the country to avoid unnecessary errors in the future.” So the importance of pharmacies in the
quest for self-care and better management of medicines is undeniable and although pharmacists are well-placed to catch errors before they reach the patient, the relationship between themselves and the GP shouldn’t just be about whistleblowing.
“If you think about it, one of the things the relationships between pharmacists and general practice is [often] based upon is pharmacists phoning up when the GP has done something wrong on a script – rather than how we can work together,” says Soni. And this needs to change if practices are to truly benefit from their pharmacy. “It’s about recognising mutual coworking and co- production rather than being critical of each other,” he adds. ¾
primary provider
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