Job responsibilities
Patient facing/telephone/video 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 ongoing 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/other clinical colleagues or prescribe autonomously where appropriate for medicine improvement.
Patient facing/telephone/video Clinical Medication Review (including SMR)
- Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and make appropriate recommendations to GPs/other clinical colleagues or prescribe autonomously where appropriate for medicine improvement. SMRs will be conducted against the PCN plan and in accordance with each practice(s) specific local implementation of that plan.
Patient facing/telephone/video care home medication reviews (including SMR)
- Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and produce recommendations to GPs/other clinical colleagues on prescribing and monitoring or prescribe autonomously where appropriate. Work with care home staff to improve safety of medicines ordering and administration. SMRs will be conducted against the PCN plan and in accordance with each practice(s) specific local implementation of that plan.
Patient facing/telephone/video domiciliary clinical medication review (including SMR)
- Undertake clinical medication reviews with patients and make appropriate recommendations to GPs/other clinical colleagues or prescribe autonomously where appropriate for medicine improvement. SMRs will be conducted against the PCN plan and in accordance with each practice(s) specific local implementation of that plan.
SMR
- Lead on the development of the PCN SMR plan working collaboratively with the Clinical Pharmacists, key PCN colleagues such as Care Home Matrons and Dieticians and the CCG Medicines Management Team. Lead on collating progress reports from each practice to feedback to the PCN.
Management of common/minor/self-limiting ailments
- Managing caseload for patients with common/minor/self limiting ailments while working within a scope of practice and limits of competence. Signposting to community pharmacy and referring to GPs/other clinical colleagues where appropriate.
Patient facing/telephone/video medicines support
- Provide patient facing clinics for those with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines in the practice.
Medicine information to practice staff and patients
- Answers all medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other Practice Staff, other Healthcare Teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines. Suggesting and recommending solutions. Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes
Unplanned hospital admissions
- Lead on coordinating at PCN level (where appropriate) and contribute at practice level to review of 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 high-risk patient groups.
Management of medicines at discharge from hospital
- To 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 high-risk groups of patients (e.g. those with medicine compliance aids or those in care homes).
Signposting
- Ensure that patients are referred to the appropriate Healthcare Professional for the appropriate level of care within an appropriate period of time e.g. pathology results, common/minor ailments, acute conditions, long term condition reviews etc.
Repeat prescribing
- Produce and implement a practice 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
- Identification of 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. These patients will be prioritised for a SMR as per the PCN SMR plan and each practices local implementation of the plan.
Service development
- Contribute pharmaceutical advice for the development and implementation of new services that have medicinal components (e.g. advice on treatment pathways and patient information leaflets). Also contribute to further development of and recruitment to the PCN Clinical Pharmacy team including liason with the PCN Clinical Director and Business Manager and PICS Clinical Pharmacy Programme Lead and Lead Clinical Pharmacist.
Information Management Medicines quality improvement
- Analyse, interpret and present medicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision making.
- Lead on coordinating at PCN level (where appropriate) and contribute at practice level to the undertaking of simple audits of prescribing in areas directed by the GPs, feedback the 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/other clinical colleagues for medicines that should be prescribed by hospital doctors (red drugs) or subject to shared care or specialist recommendation/initiation(amber 1 and 2 drugs). Assist practices in seeing and maintaining a practice formulary that is hosted on the practices computer system. Auditing practices compliance against NICE technology assessment guidance. Provide newsletters or bulletins on important prescribing messages.
Oversee the PCN Clinical Pharmacists
- Provide mentoring and support for the development of the PCN Clinical Pharmacists and help ensure the workload is managed
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 practices are compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.
Public health
- To support public health campaigns. To provide specialist knowledge on all public health programmes available to the general public.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
REQUIRED:
- Completion
of a Bachelors/Masters degree in Pharmacy and registration with the General
Pharmaceutical Council
- Minimum
of 5 years experience as a Pharmacist, demonstrated within a practice
portfolio.
- Has
experience and an awareness of common acute and long term conditions that are
likely to be seen in general practice
- Holds
an independent prescribing qualification.
- Recognises
priorities when problem-solving and identifies deviations from normal pattern
and is able to refer to PICS Lead Clinical Pharmacist, GPs /other
clinical/managerial colleagues when appropriate
- Able
to follow legal, ethical, professional and organisational policies/procedures
and codes of conduct
- Involves
patients in decisions about prescribed medicines and supporting adherence as
per NICE guidelines.
LEADERSHIP:
- Demonstrate
understanding of the pharmacy role in governance and is able to implement this
appropriately within the workplace.
- Demonstrate
understanding of, and contributes to, the workplace vision
- Engages
with Patient Participation Groups (PPGs) and involves PPGs in development of
the role and practices
- Demonstrates
ability to improve quality within limitations of service
- Reviews
yearly progress and develops clear plans to achieve results within priorities
set by others.
- Demonstrate
ability to motivate self to achieve goals
- Promotes
diversity and equality in people management techniques and leads by example.
- Demonstrates
an ability to lead a team and provide mentoring and support to the other
Clinical Pharmacists
MANAGEMENT:
- Demonstrate
understanding of the implications of national priorities for the team and/or
service
- Demonstrate
understanding of the process for effective resource utilisation
- Demonstrate
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
- Demonstrate
ability to extend boundaries of service delivery within the team
- Lead
and mentor a team of differing experience and abilities
For more information, please see the supporting documents
