Communication skills

Pharmacy access to full patient records is more critical than ever

Pharmacists must be given full access to patient records to enable them to expand their role in the health service and provide better patient care.…

WhatsApp groups improve communication within pharmacy teams, finds study

Using the social messaging platform WhatsApp improves communication between junior and senior pharmacists when providing out-of-hours care, study results show.…

Pharmacists in the Army Reserve

Anuj K Sunder describes the benefits of being a pharmacist in the Army Reserve.…

How to demonstrate empathy and compassion in a pharmacy setting

Showing kindness and compassion is central to the delivery of patient-centred care and can help make better use of the short time pharmacists have in consultations.…

Advising patients about malaria risks and prevention

Pharmacists must be able to advise UK-based travellers to malaria-endemic areas on the precautions they can take to protect themselves against the disease.…

Back to the drawing board: why pharmacists should embrace creativity in patient interactions

When almost half of patients are unable to understand health information, pharmacists should employ a creative and humanistic approach to discussing medicines with patients, says mental health pharmacist Nana Tomova.…

Suicide: how to recognise the warning signs and deal with disclosure

The risk factors for suicide, and the psychological frameworks and practical tools to use when dealing with disclosure of suicidal ideation.…

How to conduct an effective joint pain management consultation in a community pharmacy setting

A guide to help community pharmacy team members effectively engage in conversations with patients about joint pain symptoms.…

Supported content

Discussing the MMR vaccine with patients

As outlined in Public Health England’s ‘UK Measles and Rubella elimination strategy’, MMR vaccination needs to improve to achieve and maintain elimination in line with recommendations from the World Health Organization. …

NICE must provide patient decision aids if the tools are to become part of routine practice

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) guideline NG5 — ‘Medicines optimisation: the safe and effective use of medicines to enable the best possible outcomes’ — sets recommendations around patient decision aids (PDAs) used in consultations in…