Medicines use review

Primary care pharmacists should carry out structured medication reviews ‘at least annually’

The updated Scottish government guidance, which builds on guidelines published in 2018, also says pharmacists should consider home visits for house-bound individuals to reduce the potential for accumulation of medicines.…

Structured medication reviews in frailty

An overview of the considerations that frailty presents in the context of a structured medication review.…

Frailty and the patient journey

How to recognise opportunities for medicines optimisation and rationalisation during the course of the patient journey following a frailty-related hospital admission.…

Polypharmacy and deprescribing in older people

An overview of the risks of inappropriate polypharmacy in older people, highlighting the role pharmacists can play in the deprescribing process.…

How we reduced polypharmacy by 1.6 medicines per patient in a care home

A pharmacist-led study revealed statistical significance in the reduction of medicines and anticholinergic burden, following structured medication reviews in care home patients.…

Pharmacists cut medication errors and costs on diabetes and endocrinology wards, study results show

The number of reported medication incidents decreased by 100% during the eight-week study period.…

Prescribing dilemma: angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors for heart failure in an older patient

The fourth article of our new prescribing dilemmas series, exploring real-world dilemmas that pharmacist prescribers encounter in clinical practice.…

Adrenal insufficiency: pathophysiology, diagnosis and management

Patients with adrenal insufficiency are at risk of life-threatening adrenal crises. It is vital that pharmacists know how to treat this rare condition appropriately.…

Prescribing dilemma: balancing risk and benefit when treating sertraline sexual dysfunction

The first of a new series of articles exploring real-world dilemmas that pharmacist prescribers encounter in clinical practice.…

Less is more: the struggle to prioritise structured medication reviews

With primary care networks no longer incentivised to carry out structured medication reviews, work is under way to make sure they remain a priority as pharmacists aim to minimise inappropriate polypharmacy.…