Job responsibilities
The purpose of the role is to lead improvements to maximise safe, cost effective best practice in prescribing to improve the quality of patient care. The post holder will help patients to get the best from their medicines by switching medications, improving repeat prescribing processes in General Practice, including promotion of repeat dispensing and online ordering, minimising clinical risk and aiming to reduce wasted medicines.
In addition, the post holder will be responsible for encouraging the development of better understanding of the principles of medicines optimisation and promoting good practice in line with therapeutic developments. This will involve assisting the PCN in achieving national requirements, NICE implementation and utilisation of medicines optimisation initiatives.
Clinical
Undertake patient facing and patient supporting roles to ensure effective medicines use, through shared decision-making conversations with patients.
Carry out medicines optimisation tasks including effective medicine administration (e.g. checking inhaler technique), supporting medication reviews and medicines reconciliation. Where required, utilise consultation skills to work in partnership with patients to ensure they use their medicines effectively.
As determined by the PCN, support medication reviews and medicines reconciliation for new care home patients and synchronising medicines for patient transfers between care settings, linking with local community pharmacies
Support the Clinical Pharmacist in Structured Medication Reviews (SMR) i.e. organise necessary monitoring tests prior to SMR
Provide expertise to address both the public health and social care needs of patients, including lifestyle advice, service information, and help in tackling local health inequalities.
Manage shared care protocols and liaise with Clinical Pharmacists for more complex patients.
Support initiatives for antimicrobial stewardship to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing locally.
Technical and Administrative
Support the PCN multi-disciplinary team to ensure efficient medicines optimisation processes are being followed.
Implement efficient ordering and return processes and reducing medication wastage.
Promotion of Electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) and online ordering
Develop relationships with other pharmacy professionals and members of the multi- disciplinary team to support integration across health and social care including primary care, community pharmacy, secondary care and mental health.
Support the implementation of national prescribing policies and guidance within GP practices, care homes and other primary care settings.
Support the PCN to deliver on QIPP agenda, QOF, IIF, Medicines Optimisation Projects and locally commissioned enhanced services
All Pharmacy Technicians must work within their competencies, and have professional indemnity for their role.
General
The postholder will:
- Develop a culture that promotes equality and values diversity.
- Ensure the principles of openness, transparency and candor 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.
- Ensure that any infection prevention and control issues are reported to the line manager/Infection Prevention and Control
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, with 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