Pilot projects

GP pharmacists are here to stay, says lead evaluator

Although it can take up to a year for pharmacists to become autonomous in seeing patients, they are already making a real difference in GP practices, said the lead researcher in a recent evaluation of NHS England’s pilot scheme.…

Urgent medicine pharmacy service prevents a quarter of patients from going without drugs

Just under one in four patients would have gone without their medicine if a pharmacist had not supplied it via the NHS Urgent Medicines Supply Advanced Service…

NHS 111 minor ailments pilot rolled out across north-east of England

More than 600 pharmacies in the north-east of England are being given the chance to take part in a new patient referral pilot scheme.…

NHS England releases guidelines on emergency referrals

NHS England has published guidance that will enable community pharmacists to dispense fast, out-of-hours access to emergency medicines more easily.…

Pilot areas named for community pharmacy urgent medication referral scheme

NHS England has published details of a new service that will see patients referred by NHS 111 to community pharmacies for urgent repeat medicines.…

Patients needing urgent repeat prescriptions will be referred to pharmacies, not GPs

Patients who require urgent repeat medicines will be urged to see a community pharmacist rather than go to a GP or A&E department to take pressure off urgent care services under plans revealed by community health and care minister David Mowat.…

Medication barcoding system tested in Welsh care homes improves patient safety

A pilot project trialling a barcoding system for dispensed medicines administered in care homes in Wales has shown that the system saves staff time, improves patient safety and reduces medicines waste.…

The incentive is now there for GPs to employ clinical pharmacists

GP surgeries in England must work together to bid for new funding that would enable clinical pharmacists to join their teams.…

Pharmacy COPD-screening could save the NHS £264m

Community pharmacies can help identify undiagnosed cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at an early stage, which could result in savings of around £264m per year, a pilot study suggests.…