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Community pharmacists should create a paper medicines administration record for adults who use home care services, according to proposals from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), England’s health technology body.
According to the new guidance, which is out for consultation until 11 November 2016, the paper record should ideally be provided by a community pharmacy and subsequently used by the carer to record the details of any medicines given.
NICE says the record should include the name of the patient; the name, formulation and strength of any medicine; how often and/or the time the medicine should be taken; the medicine’s route of administration; the name of the patient’s GP; stop or review dates and any additional information, such as specific instructions for giving a medicine.
The new guidance, ‘Managing medicines for adults receiving social care in the community’, has been designed to improve the quality of medicines support and management that paid carers give to their clients. It includes processes around ordering prescriptions, administering medicines and record keeping.
Anne Bentley, lead pharmacist for East Lancashire clinical commissioning group and chair of the NICE guideline development group, says: “More and more people are using home care services and this will often include help with managing their medicines.
“We want to support people to be as independent as possible so they can take their medicines safely and get the most from their treatment.”
She adds: “This guideline covers how medicines support should be planned and delivered, with health and social care providers sharing accurate and up-to-date information, and working together to deliver high quality care.”
