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A vision for the future of pharmacy in Scotland in 2030 has been published by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS).
In ‘Pharmacy 2030: a professional vision‘, published on 2 February 2022, RPS Scotland sets out how it sees the future for the profession, where pharmacists will move from checking other professionals’ work “into having a clinical, prescribing role to manage the care of individual patients”.
It also foresees that pharmacy technicians “will lead medicines management processes, both in technical roles focused on the safe and efficient supply of medicines, and in patient-facing roles to support patients’ use of medicines”.
The document was jointly published by RPS Scotland and the National Pharmacy Technician Group Scotland (NPTGS), which represents pharmacy technicians in Scotland, and was co-produced with pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working in all healthcare settings across Scotland.
During 2021, RPS Scotland published three consultation documents on: the future of community pharmacy; hospital pharmacy; and general practice pharmacy, ahead of publishing its vision document.
In the document, RPS Scotland said ‘Pharmacy 2030’ will be used to work with NHS Scotland, the Scottish government and the Scottish Parliament on advances that are needed to maximise the potential of pharmacy across the health and social care system.
In a statement, Clare Morrison, director for RPS Scotland, said: “In our vision, pharmacists will be recognised as medicines experts who take leadership of prescribing in all care settings and optimise therapeutic outcomes for patients. This means prescribing, monitoring, reviewing, adjusting and stopping medicines, underpinned by empowering patients to make shared decisions.”
Meanwhile, Andrew Carruthers, chair of the Scottish Pharmacy Board, said: “We are really excited to be publishing ‘Pharmacy 2030’ today. Pharmacy teams already make a huge contribution to people every day, and a spotlight was shone on their vital work during the pandemic.
“However, we also know that pharmacy has the potential to achieve so much more, and publishing ‘Pharmacy 2030’ is the first step on our journey to achieving this.”
Read more: RPS Scotland consults on ‘Pharmacy 2030: a vision for community pharmacy over the next decade‘
