Clinical Pharmacist

Job responsibilities

The post holder is a clinical pharmacist, who acts within their professional boundaries, supporting and working alongside a team of Health Care Practitioners within general practice and a Primary Care Network (PCN).

The post holder will provide primary support to general practice staff with regards to prescription and medication queries. They will perform medicines reconciliation on transfer of care and implement systems for safer prescribing, providing expertise in clinical medicines advice while addressing both public and social care needs of patients in the PCN.

The post holder will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role. They will take responsibility for areas of medicines optimisation within the PCN and undertake structured clinical medication reviews to proactively manage patients with complex polypharmacy.

The post holder will provide clinical leadership on medicines optimisation and quality improvement (QI) and manage some aspects of the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services at practice and PCN level.

Repeat prescribing

Develop and quality-assured improved, safe and efficient repeat prescribing and medication review processes within the practice, and then to evolve and implement changes as required.

Focused and structured reviews of repeat prescriptions on an individual basis to improve quality and safety and maximise effectiveness and reduce wastage.

Medication review services via clinics in the practice, domiciliary visit and in residential and nursing homes. These may be face-to-face or notes-based reviews.

Long-Term Conditions / Chronic Disease Management

Undertake disease focused medication reviews, particularly of high-risk groups (elderly, renal/hepatic impairment, and to ensure appropriate compliance with national and local guidelines. This will be via pharmacist lead clinics, telephone and office-based notes reviews.

Ensure the care for patients taking high risk drugs e.g. DMARDs, anticoagulation, are safe and appropriate

Telephone advice to patients with LTCs on specific medicines management issues

Be familiar with, contribute to the development off and work alongside practice ICB long-term conditions pathways to ensure consistency and efficiency of systems

Provide health promotion where appropriate, including flu vaccinations.

Acute illness and pharmacist led clinics(within clinical scope and area of competence)

The initial assessment of common general practice presentations

Working through differential diagnosis and identifying serious disease and referring appropriately

Seeing patients with minor illnesses, independently diagnosing and managing the conditions

Following patients up with GP mentor support and within boundaries of safety and competency

Telephone advice to patients with acute illness queries

Minor ailment triage, with signposting and educating patients in the use of non-GP services, such as pharmacy lead minor ailments schemes minor eye complaints service, dental services, etc.

Hospital Discharge and Outpatient Letters

Review and reconcile medicines changes from secondary care organisations, in particular discharge papers and TTOs, to ensure concordance with national and local policies and to ensure optimisation of treatment and reduce inappropriate or wasteful prescribing.

Reconcile patients computer records with discharge medication and discuss discrepancies or concerns with hospital doctor/pharmacist

Ensure suggested /appropriate actions from hospital discharge/outpatients letters are followed through in practice e.g. follow-up blood tests, up-titration / down titration of medications etc.

Ensure patients are informed and aware of any changes to their medication

Practice Formulary

Manage practice formularies and IT systems to ensure appropriate selection of medication is easy and maximise by prescribers in the practice

IMT and Electronic Prescribing

Facilitate the development of electronic prescribing and increase its usage

To update and maintain accurate patient medication records on the patients clinical computer systems, including advice given and action taken in pharmacist clinics/reviews.

Safety, Risk and Governance

Ensure appropriate governance is in place regarding medicines, including leading on the response to any drug safety alerts or changes in clinical guidance.

Assist with the development of relevant medicines management guidance and/or policies.

Meet regularly with the practice prescribing lead to discuss medication issues.

To advise the primary healthcare team on the safe and secure handling of controlled drugs and other medicines, ensuring compliance with medicines legislation.

Identify and flag up risks with regard to management of medicines including clinical and financial risks.

To offer advice and guidance on adverse significant events that involve medication to ensure lessons are learned and appropriate changes made to prevent re-occurrence.

To offer advice and guidance on patient complaints that relate to medication/prescribing.

Audit and Monitoring

To plan and undertake clinical/prescribing audits to identify areas where improvement is needed, development action plans and implement appropriate changes.

To provide regular support and feedback on prescribing action plans.

Report regularly to the GP partners on the practice prescribing figures with benchmarking against other local and national data.

Analyse practice complex prescribing data to inform GPs and non-medical prescribers on their collective and individual performance.

Lead on the identification, implementation and monitoring of medicines management targets and initiatives including QOF, QIPP and CCG prescribing target.

Support the implementation of actions resulting from audit findings when necessary.

To agree all auditing and monitoring priorities in discussion with the practice.

Relationships

To provide training in medicines related issues to other members of the practice as appropriate.

To consider the skills of the reception team and develop plans for training as necessary to ensure safe and efficient prescribing processes.

Medicines Information and Awareness

Analyse and critically appraise complex information to prepare concise evidence-based summaries/advice to clinicians and nonclinical staff and patients.

Prepare evidence-based resources and information to support the health professionals in the implementation of rational cost-effective prescribing.

Present add patient group meetings or other appropriate events to give advice on the appropriate use of medicines.

Produce patient information leaflets and posters, and run medicine is aware of his projects throughout the year.

Raise awareness of out of practice schemes, such as minor ailments and schemes that promote self-care.

Qualifications

Essential

• Mandatory registration with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• May hold or be working towards an independent prescribing qualification.

Desirable

• Flexibility to meet the needs of the business
• DBS required
• Immunisation status

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Essential
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Communicates effectively with patients and carers, recognising the need for alternative methods of communication to overcome difficult levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating, whilst ensuring the patient is fully informed
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate complex and sensitive information in an understandable form to a variety of audiences (e.g. patients)
• Excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills
• Is able to effectively plan, manage, monitor, advise and review general medicine optimisations issues in cored areas for long term conditions
• Recognise priorities when problem solving and identifies deviations from the normal pattern and is able to refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate
• Able to obtain and analyse complex technical information
• Knowledge of health promotion strategies
• Knowledge of clinical governance issues in primary care
• Effective decision making and negotiation skills
• Ability to problem solve and meet deadlines whilst working under pressure
• Excellent organisational skills
• Work effectively independently and as a team member
• Gain acceptance for recommendations and influence/motivate/persuade the audience to comply with the recommendations/agreed course of action where there may be significant barriers
• Demonstrate accountability for delivering professional expertise and direct service provision

Desirable

• IT skills (MS Office, System one and DOCMAN)

Experience

Essential

• Experience working as a clinical pharmacist.
• Involving patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and supporting adherence as per NICE and local best practice guidelines.
• NB: it is anticipated that the level of qualification, skill and competence held will vary according to the level of position and the components of the role being carried out.
• In depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence based healthcare
• An appreciation of the nature of GPs and general practices
• An appreciation of the nature of primary care prescribing, concepts of rational prescribing and strategies for improving prescribing

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).