The Community Pharmacy Clinical Services Review conducted independently by Richard Murray of the Kings Fund and commissioned by the CPO for England has been published and can be accessed here.
The report findings highlight opportunities for community pharmacies beyond being funded for the supply of medicines including:
– a wider role in supporting patients with long term conditions;
– the provision of a minor ailments/common illness service; and
– a wide range of public health services as delivered by Healthy Living Pharmacies.
The report compares the English contract with that of Scotland and New Zealand where remuneration has shifted towards person-centred clinical services. It also focuses on the urgent need for pharmacy to engage and align with Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) plus the Vanguard programme with new models of care to deal with the challenges and ambitions within the NHS Five Year Forward View:
– the health and wellbeing gap;
– the care and quality gap; and
– the funding and efficiency gap.
Recommendations include:
– full use of the electronic repeat dispensing service;
– redesign of the Medicines Use Review service as part of an integrated medicines optimisation approach to support patients with long-term conditions;
– delivery against the commitment for a minor ailments service whether locally or nationally commissioned;
– some national public health services, e.g. smoking cessation;
– integration into care pathways and new models of care;
– involvement in case finding programmes, e.g. hypertension;
– digital maturity and interconnectivity to facilitate effective communication between care providers;
– extended roles for registered pharmacy technicians; and
– breaking down of historical professional boundary issues.
To unlock the benefits community pharmacy can bring, we must recognise that cultural and behavioural change within the profession plus partnership working with other parts of the health and care system and with patients is critical. This requires strong collaborative leadership at both national, LPC and individual pharmacy level; Pharmacy Complete can support this change.