Job responsibilities
The
clinical pharmacist in a general practice organisation has the following key
responsibilities in relation to delivering health services.
These
key responsibilities are based on those outlined in
Annex B1 of the Network
Contract Directed Enhanced Service 2023-24 specification
There
may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be
dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels.
a.
Work
as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role to clinically
assess and treat patients using their expert knowledge of medicines for
specific disease areas
b.
Be
a prescriber, or completing training to become a prescriber, and work with and
alongside the general practice team
c.
Be
responsible for the care management of patients with chronic diseases and
undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex
polypharmacy, especially the elderly, people in care homes, those with multiple
co-morbidities (in particular frailty, COPD and asthma) and people with
learning disabilities or autism (through STOMP Stop Over Medication
Programme)
d.
Provide
specialist expertise in the use of medicines whilst helping to address both the
public health and social care needs of patients at the organisation and to help
in tackling inequalities
e.
Provide
leadership on person-centred 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
f.
Through
structured medication reviews, support patients to take their medications to
get the best from them, reduce waste and promote self-care
g.
Have
a leadership role in 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
h.
Develop
relationships and work closely with other pharmacy professionals across the
wider health and social care system
i.
Take
a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols, clinical
research with medicines, liaison with specialist pharmacists (including mental
health and reduction of inappropriate antipsychotic use in people with learning
difficulties), liaison with community pharmacists, and anticoagulation
j.
Be
part of a professional clinical network and have access to appropriate clinical
supervision. Appropriate clinical supervision means:
i.
Each
clinical pharmacist must receive a minimum of one supervision session per month
by a senior clinical pharmacist
ii.
The
senior clinical pharmacist must receive a minimum of one supervision session
every three months by a GP clinical supervisor
iii.
Each
clinical pharmacist will have access to an assigned GP clinical supervisor for
support and development
iv.
A
ratio of one senior clinical pharmacist to no more than five junior clinical
pharmacists, with appropriate peer support and supervision in place
k.
To
act as the point of contact for all medicine related matters, establishing
positive working relationships
l.
To
consult patients within defined levels of competence and independently
prescribe acute and repeat medication
m.
To
receive referrals and directed patients from triage services and other
clinicians
n.
To
receive and resolve medicines queries from patients and other staff
o.
To
provide medication review services for patients in the practice and during
domiciliary visits to the local nursing home
p.
To
manage a caseload of complex patients
q.
To
manage a therapeutic drug monitoring system and the recall of patients taking
high risk drugs, i.e., anticoagulants, anticonvulsants and DMARDs, etc.
r.
To
deliver long term condition clinics and home visits, particularly for patients
with complicated medication regimes, and prescribe accordingly
s.
To
provide pharmaceutical consultations to patients with long term conditions as
an integral part of the multidisciplinary team
t.
To
review medications for newly registered patients
u.
To
improve patient and carer understanding of confidence in and compliance with
their medication
v.
To
maintain accurate clinical records in conjunction with extant legislation
w.
To
encourage cost-effective prescribing throughout the organisation
x.
To
implement and embed a robust repeat prescribing system
y.
To
provide advice and answer medication related queries from patients and staff
z.
To
organise and oversee the organisations medicines optimisation systems,
including the repeat prescribing and medication review systems
aa. To improve the quality and effectiveness
of prescribing through clinical audit and education, to improve performance
against NICE standards and clinical and prescribing guidance.
bb. To develop yourself and the role through
participation in clinical supervision, training and service redesign activities
cc. To ensure appropriate supervision of
safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs. To apply
infection-control measures within the practice according to local and national
guidelines
dd. To provide subject matter expertise on
medication monitoring, implementing and embedding a system
ee. To support clinicians with the
management of patients suffering from drug and alcohol dependencies
ff.
To
actively signpost patients to the correct healthcare professional
gg. To manage a caseload of complex patients
and potential care institutions and to provide advice for the GP management of
more complex patients or areas such as addictive behaviours, severe mental
illness or end of life care
hh. To review the latest guidance, ensuring
the organisation conforms to NICE, CQC etc.
ii.
To
provide targeted support and proactive reviews for vulnerable, complex patients
and those at risk of admission and re-admission to secondary care
jj.
To
handle prescription queries and requests directly
kk. To provide proactive leadership on
medicines and prescribing systems to the organisation, patients and their
carers
ll.
To
support in the delivery of enhanced services and other service requirements on
behalf of the organisation
mm.
To
participate in the management of patient complaints when requested to do so,
and participate in the identification of any necessary learning brought about
through clinical incidents and near-miss events
nn. To undertake all mandatory training and
induction programmes
oo. To contribute to and embrace the
spectrum of clinical governance
pp. To attend a formal appraisal with your
manager at least every 12 months. Once a performance/training objective has
been set, progress will be reviewed on a regular basis so that new objectives
can be agreed
qq. To contribute to public health campaigns
(e.g., COVID-19 or flu clinics) through advice or direct care
