Job responsibilities
The Primary Care Pharmacy Technician will work alongside the practice Clinical Pharmacist to support the practice clinical team in all aspects of prescribing and medicines safety.
The purpose of this role is to support improvements to maximise safe and best practice in prescribing and improve the quality of patient care. You will be a point of contact for patients enquiries regarding their prescriptions. The post holder will help patients to get the best from their medicines through effective medicines reconciliation after discharge and on other transfers of care, identification of patients potentially suitable for repeat dispensing, providing assistance in the monitoring of high-risk drugs, and handling of prescription queries within the areas of competence.
The role will also include training and development of practice based prescribing clerks and administrators to support improved co-ordination and effective pharmacy administration within general practice, especially with relation to repeat prescribing systems and processes.
Job Duties
Support to the practice Clinical Pharmacist and practice Clinical Team to provide a safe and effective repeat prescribing service
Comply with legal and professional requirements and with safe systems of work for re-authorising repeat prescriptions.
Co-ordinate medication review appointments and any changes of medication as advised by the clinical team
Liaise with pharmacies on the supply of prescribed drugs, alert clinicians of any supply issues and forward recommendations of alternatives
Medicines reconciliation post discharge and on other transfers of care.
Bring queries to clinical team to include under or over usage.
Day to day handling of prescription queries within area of own competence.
Delivery of training and development to practice based prescribing clerks and administrators to support improved co-ordination and effective pharmacy administration within General Practice.
Use and maintain information reporting systems and databases relevant to the position including incident reporting, prescribing data and patient outcomes.
Participate in practice meetings, and other meetings to improve engagement of the role and to promote issues relevant to prescribing.
Liaise with multidisciplinary team, prescribing support team, community pharmacy and hospital pharmacy teams.
Handle function specific information, which may be sensitive, complex or confidential and appropriately recording, transferring and/or coordinating such information in accordance with the GDPR; Caldecott Guidelines and the Confidentiality Code of Conduct.
Be responsible for the organisation, planning and of own workload to meet set deadlines.
Utilise GP practice clinical systems to conduct prescribing audits.
Support the Clinical Pharmacist with the work required under the UHB Medicines Management Incentive Scheme.
Support the Clinical Pharmacist in Share Care monitoring and processes.
In collaboration with practice Clinical Pharmacist and GP Prescribing Lead ensure that all major MHRA drug alerts, where appropriate and within levels of competence, are acted upon within practices over an appropriate time frame and to advise on any medication changes that occur as a result
Undertake training and development, to ensure the required knowledge and skills for practice based work
Escalate problems or issues to line manager that requires additional support or input
Carry out other duties which are appropriate to the skills and competencies of the post holder and grade of the post as the priorities of the service change
Establish and maintain effective working relationships with GP practices, staff and other healthcare professionals
The post holder will: Develop a culture that promotes equality and values diversity. The post holder must be aware of and committed to the Equality and Diversity policies of the practice and comply with all the requirements of these policies and actively promote Equality and Diversity issues relevant to the post.
Ensure the principles of openness, transparency and candour are observed and upheld in all working practices.
The post holder will have, or acquire through training provided by the organisation, the appropriate level of safeguarding and knowledge, skills and practice required for the post and be aware of and comply with the organisations safeguarding protection policies and procedures.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Confidentiality:
In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately.
In the performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, Practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the Practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential.
Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the Practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the Practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data
Health & Safety:
The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the practice Health & Safety Policy, the practice Health & Safety Manual, and the practice Infection Control policy and published procedures. This will include:
Using personal security systems within the workplace according to Practice guidelines
Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks.
Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills
Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards
Actively reporting of health and safety hazards and infection hazards immediately when recognised
Keeping own work areas and general / patient areas generally clean, assisting in the maintenance of general standards of cleanliness consistent with the scope of the job holders role
Undertaking periodic infection control training (minimum annually)
Reporting potential risks identified
Equality and Diversity:
The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include:
Acting in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with Practice procedures and policies, and current legislation
Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues
Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights.
Personal/Professional Development:
The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the Practice as part of this employment, such training to include:
Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development
Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work
Quality:
The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the Practice, and will:
Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk
Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision
Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance
Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs
Effectively manage own time, workload and resources
Communication:
The post-holder should recognise the importance of effective communication within the team and will strive to:
Communicate effectively with other team members
Communicate effectively with patients and carers
Recognize peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly
Contribution to the Implementation of Services:
The post-holder will:
Apply Practice policies, standards and guidance
Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work
Participate in audit where appropriate
Special requirements of the post:
This job description represents an outline of the post and is not exhaustive; it provides an indication only of the scope and range of the duties to be undertaken. The post holder may be required to undertake other related duties not specifically mentioned above. The job description therefore is intended to be flexible and is subject to review and amendment following consultation between the post holder and line manager.