Job responsibilities
Job Description - Clinical Pharmacist
Primary Duties and Areas of Responsibility
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
Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for the nurses and/or GPs on prescribing and monitoring.
Patient facing care home medication reviews
Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations for the 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 the nurses and GPs on prescribing and monitoring.
Management of common/minor/self-limiting ailments
Manage caseload of patients with common/minor/self-limiting ailments while working within a scope of practice and limits of competence.
Signpost to community pharmacy and refer to GPs or other healthcare professionals where appropriate
Patient facing medicines support
Provide patient facing clinics for those with medicines queries
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
Answer relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines. Suggest and recommend solutions.
Provide 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
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.
Signposting
Ensure patients are referred to the appropriate healthcare professional for the appropriate level of care within an appropriate period of time.
Repeat prescribing
Implement the practics 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
Identify cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through pre-prepared practice computer searches. This might include risks that are patient related, medicine related, or both.
Medicines quality improvement
Undertake clinical audits of prescribing in areas directed by the GPs, feedback results and implement changes in conjunction with the practice team.
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 against the local health economys RAG list and make recommendations to GPs for medicines that should be prescribed by hospital doctors (red drugs) or subject to shared care (amber drugs).
Education and Training
Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics and medicines optimisation.
Care Quality Commission
Work with the general practice team to ensure the practice is compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.
Collaborative Working Relationships
The post-holder shall be a professional who:
Recognises the roles of other colleagues within the organisation and their role to patient care
Demonstrates use of appropriate communication to gain the co-operation of relevant stakeholders (including patients, senior and peer colleagues, and other professionals, other NHS/private organisations e.g. CCG/PCNs)
Demonstrates ability to work as a member of a team
Other attributes
The post-holder shall be a professional who:
Is able to recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary.
Actively works toward developing and maintaining effective working relationships both within and outside the practice and locality
Fosters and maintain strong links with all services across locality
Explores the potential for collaborative working and takes opportunities to initiate and
sustain such relationships
Demonstrates ability to integrate general practice with community and hospital pharmacy teams
Liaises with CCG/PCN colleagues including CCG/PCN Pharmacists and others on prescribing related matters to ensure consistency of patient care and benefit
Knowledge, Skills and Experience required:
Completion of an undergraduate degree in pharmacy and full, valid registration with the General Pharmaceutical Council
Minimum of 2 years experience as a pharmacist, demonstrated within a practice portfolio and evidence of self-directed continuing professional development
Have experience and knowledge of common acute and long-term conditions that are likely to be seen in general practice settings and the common or important pharmaceutical issues relating to these
Hold or be working towards an independent prescribing qualification.
Recognises priorities when problem-solving and identifies deviations from normal pattern and is able to refer to seniors or GPs when appropriate
Able to follow legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies/procedures and codes of conduct
NB: it is anticipated level of qualification held may vary according to the level of position and the components of the role being carried out, see person specification for details.
Leadership:
Demonstrates understanding of the pharmacy role in governance and is able to implement this appropriately within the workplace.
Demonstrates understanding of, and contributes to, the workplace vision
Engages with Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) and involves PPGs in development of the role and services
Demonstrates ability to improve quality within limitations of service
Reviews yearly progress and develops clear plans to achieve results within priorities set by others and participates in appraisal processes.
Demonstrate ability to motivate self to achieve goals
Promotes diversity and equality in people management techniques and leads by example.
Management:
Demonstrates understanding of the implications of national priorities for the team
and/or service
Demonstrates understanding of the process for effective resource utilisation
Demonstrates understanding of, and conforms to, relevant standards of practice
Demonstrates ability to identify and resolve risk management issues according to policy/protocol
Follows professional and organisational policies/procedures relating to performance management
Demonstrates ability to extend boundaries of service delivery within the team
Respect for Patient Confidentiality
The post-holder should respect patient confidentiality at all times and not divulge
patient information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.
Special Working Conditions
The post-holder is required to travel independently between practice sites (where applicable), and to attend meetings etc. hosted by other agencies. The post-holder will have contact with body fluids i.e. wound exudates; urine etc. while in clinical practice.
Role Profile Agreement
This role profile is intended to provide an outline of the key tasks and responsibilities only. There may be other duties required of the post-holder commensurate with the position. This description will be open to regular review and may be amended to take into account development within the Practice. All members of staff should be prepared to take on additional duties or relinquish existing duties in order to maintain the efficient running of the Practice.
This job description is intended as a basic guide to the scope and responsibilities ofthe post and is not exhaustive. It will be subject to regular review and amendment as necessary in consultation with the post holder. For a full copy of the job descripion please email ritacabrita@nhs.net.