Medicines optimisation

Pharmacist-led clinic in Canada aims to benefit students, pharmacists and patients

As pharmacists take on more clinical roles within primary care, innovative models of practice are emerging around the world. The University of British Columbia, Canada, has opened a pharmacist-led primary care clinic, which showcases what pharmacists can do, is an educational tool for students and a…

Preliminary results of a specialist pharmacist-led polypharmacy clinic for patients with prostate cancer

Polypharmacy — the use of multiple medications by a patient — generally occurs in older adults aged 65 years and over. The increasing number of treatment options and an ageing population mean that, anecdotally, we are seeing more patients with co-morbidities. The multiple specialisms inv…

Pharmacy minister confirms just £2m of Pharmacy Integration Fund spend

The pharmacy minster Steve Brine has told MPs that he can only confirm that £2m of the promised £42m of Pharmacy Integration Fund (PhiF) funding for 2016-18 has been spent.…

More generic prescribing could save £18m, NHS Business Services Authority says

Nearly £18m could be saved from the NHS drugs budget if more medicines from a published list were prescribed generically, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) has said.…

Communicating with parents and involving children in medicines optimisation

Although children take responsibility for taking their medications at different ages, involving parents, and where possible children, in decision making is key to medicines optimisation.…

How I work to improve patient health outcomes at a national level at NHS RightCare

Working on areas of healthcare where there is true innovation and value can be challenging but is also rewarding, says Jas Khambh.…

My journey from analytical chemist to heart failure specialist pharmacist

Helping patients to make sense of a serious and complex long-term condition is the most interesting part of my role, says Rocco Hadland.…

Community pharmacy medicines optimisation boosts cost savings

A pilot study has found that medicines optimisation by community pharmacists has the potential to save clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) thousands of pounds. Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) CCG enrolled five community pharmacies and asked them to look for opportunities to optimise pati…

Genomic medicine is going mainstream and pharmacists need to be prepared

The 100,000 Genome Project is driving the move from a ‘one size fits all’ approach to treatment, towards personalised, or precision, medicine. Genetic information is also being used by pharmaceutical companies to help speed up drug discovery and development, and reduce the associated cos…

How I support community health services as a national quality pharmacist

The opportunities for pharmacists within the community services sector are huge, says James Andrews.…