Address Responsibilities The following are the core responsibilities of the Clinical Pharmacist. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels. Clinical Care Improve the quality and safety of care offered to patients who are living locally in care homes. To plan and organise their own workload, including audit and project work, care home visits, Multi Disciplinary Team meetings and training sessions for members of the Practice team, patients, and carers.
To run clinics where medicines are the main interventions e.g. anticoagulant monitoring clinics. To conduct spirometry, child immunisation, travel vaccination, diabetic foot checks and NHS Health Checks as well as other roles as required on completion of appropriate training. Conduct care planning including mental health, admission avoidance schemes and End of Life patients.
Review daily pathology results and act on results. Undertake minor ailments triage and manage patients based on clinical need, documenting relevant patient health information at all consultations including contributing to the quality outcomes framework. Monitoring patients with complex long-term conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and COPD. Reviewing the on-going need for each medicine and supporting patients to ensure that they get the best use of their medicines (i.e.
medicines optimisation). Providing clinical advice and expertise on medication to patients and the wider multi-disciplinary team. Establishing ongoing professional relationships with individual patients. Act across care boundaries and liaise with other providers i.e.
secondary care, community pharmacy and care/nursing homes as necessary to ensure safe and effective transfers of care. Deliver on and/or oversee relevant aspects of the PCN Directed Enhanced Service (DES). Take a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols, clinical research with medicines, liaison with specialist pharmacists (e.g. mental health and reduction of inappropriate antipsychotic use in people with learning difficulties).
Be part of a professional clinical network and have access to appropriate clinical supervision. Support the PCN clinical director as is necessary. Maintain clinical competencies for activities undertaken. Prescribing and Medication Review Providing structured medication reviews to those in care homes, to the most frail and vulnerable.
Providing structured medication reviews to patients in their own homes, if required. Reviewing prescribing and medication processes and policies in care homes and providing support to care home teams. Manage the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing requests for repeat prescriptions and medicines reaching review dates. Review prescribing against local and national targets and engage with the wider prescribing team to rectify.
Carry out structured medicines reviews in care homes associated with the PCN working with all stakeholders in the multidisciplinary team to ensure optimal patient care and the reduction of unplanned hospital admissions and inappropriate A&E attendances. To contribute to the reduction of medicine wastage within practices across the PCN, resulting in improved budget performance for both the practice and the wider CCG area. To conduct non-urgent domiciliary visits in order to complete medication reviews with housebound patients as is applicable. Setting up uniform protocols and searches for high-risk drug monitoring.
Reviewing and updating repeat prescribing policies, with a view to making this and other policies in relation to prescribing uniform across the PCN. Provide expertise in clinical medicines review and address public health and social needs of patients in GP practices, developing bespoke medicine plans for individual patients. Medicines Optimisation and Advice Reduce inappropriate polypharmacy and wasteful prescribing, support patients to take their medications and to get the best from them, through structured medication reviews and the promotion of self-care. Reconcile patients medicines following hospital discharge, amend medication lists and contact patients/carers regarding such changes, as appropriate, to ensure patients receive the medicines in a timely fashion post discharge.
Contribute to reductions in medicine related hospital admissions and readmissions by supporting patients to get the best outcomes from their medicines and identifying and addressing any medicine related issues. Interface with community and hospital pharmacy colleagues and develop referral processes between primary care professionals including the promotion of the repeat dispensing service and new medicines service maximising their clinical effectiveness to patients and ensuring the smooth integration of information flows between general practice and the community pharmacies. Manage medicines queries from patients and health care professionals. Increase quality and safety of prescribing through mechanisms such as audit and PDSA cycles, drug to diagnosis checks, use of PINCER and other tools and ensuring appropriate monitoring such as blood testing has taken place.
Provide leadership on person centered medicines optimisation (including ensuring prescribers in the practice conserve antibiotics in line with local antimicrobial stewardship guidance) and quality improvement, whilst contributing to the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services. Manage practice formularies to improve the quality, safety and cost effectiveness of prescribing in liaison with the CCG Medicines Management team, and associated practice medicines management technicians. Review and implement MHRA alerts, organising appropriate searches/audits, implementing drug withdrawals, etc; improving medicines safety. Manage medicines shortages and recommend alternatives to clinical colleagues.
Provide medicines information and training to Practice healthcare professionals and admin staff. Act as a source of medicines information for all of the practice team and patients (e.g. around doses, side effects, adverse events, possible alternatives e.g. around out of stocks).
General Lead on the prescribing domains of the Quality & Outcome Framework (QoF). Lead on the prescribing domains of the Consolidated Funding Framework (CFF). Lead on the prescribing domains of the Investment and Impact Fund (IIF). Do any further work or training as requested of you by the Senior Clinical Pharmacist or your GP Clinical supervisor to further improve your clinical knowledge and understanding.
Meet the professional standards expected of all Pharmacists in Great Britain as described by the General Pharmacy Council. Work with primary/secondary care colleagues and patients to implement NICE and other evidence-based guidance. Contribute to multi-morbidity reviews and multidisciplinary reviews. Work across the PCN as required to ensure a consistent approach with regards to medicines optimisation and safe, effective, high quality patient care.
Support innovation and research, both through any emerging pilot schemes, and the broader National Cancer Research Network (NCRN) in the region. Contribute to practice team meetings, clinical meetings and case reviews. Mentor new pharmacists, trainee nurses and GP registrars. Carry out any appropriate duties as required by the PCN team supporting further integration of general practice with the wider healthcare teams (including community and hospital pharmacy) to help improve patient outcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help manage general practice workload.
Always maintain patient confidentiality and carry out the Practices confidentiality policy. Attend monthly meetings of pilot group, and training scheme events, as appropriate. Be familiar with and implement the Practices and PCNs policies and procedures as well as all legislative and regulatory requirements relating to the activities of the Company. Be familiar with the Company obligations under the Health & Safety at work Act 1974 and Health & Safety Regulations detailed in the Practices policy.
Represent the Practice, PCN and company in a professional manner at all times, on the telephone, face to face or in written communication. Support public health campaigns at national and local levels. Work with practices to ensure full compliance with Care Quality Commission standards for safe and effective care. To stay undertake all mandatory training.
To implement all training for the safe and efficient delivery of services as well as maintaining a safe work environment for team members and other users both within and outside the practice Please refer to job description for more information.
