Clinical Pharmacist

Job description Job responsibilities

Job Summary:

To improve patients health outcomes and the efficiency of the Primary Care team by providing direct, accessible and timely Clinical Medicines expertise, by working as part of a multidisciplinary practice team.

To proactively transfer workload relating to medicines optimisation issues from other clinical staff to improve patient care, safety, thus freeing up other clinical staff to spend more time on other clinical care:

To promote safe, evidence based, cost effective prescribing in line with ICB requirements

To provide expert pharmaceutical advice to practice staff and patients

To provide prescribing support in areas such as

Hospital discharge lettersFace to Face medication reviews and follow up

Implementation of prescribing changes

Review of repeat prescribing

Audit

This role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and operational efficiencies so requires good motivation and passion to deliver an excellent service within a General Practice environment.

1. Primary Duties and Areas of Responsibility

Patient facing long-term condition and medication review clinics

See patients with single or multiple medical problems where medicine optimisation is required (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, heart failure), or where patients are prescribed large numbers of medicines or combinations with identifiable risks. Review the ongoing medicine plan for these patients, ensuring they get the best use of their medicines and make appropriate recommendations to clinicians for medicine improvement.

Medicines support in person or by telephone

Provide patient facing clinics or telephone support for those with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines in the practice.

Medicine information to practice staff and patients

Respond to medicine related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients/carers with queries about medicines. Suggesting and recommending solutions. Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes.

Unplanned hospital admissions

Provide targeted support and proactive review for vulnerable, complex patients and those at risk of admission and re-admission to secondary care

Management of medicines at discharge from hospital

To reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into care homes, working with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.

Signposting

Ensure that patients are referred in a timely manner to the appropriate healthcare professional for the appropriate level of care (e.g. pathology results, common/minor ailments, acute conditions, long term condition reviews etc.)

Repeat prescribing

Oversee repeat prescribing, repeat dispensing, electronic prescribing and medication review systems. Ensure patients have appropriate monitoring tests in place when required.

Risk stratification

Identification of cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through pre-prepared practice computer searches. This might include risks that are patient related, medicine related, or both.

Service development

Contribute pharmaceutical advice for the development and implementation of new services that have medicinal components (e.g. advice on treatment pathways and patient information leaflets). Develop specialist area(s) of interest.

Information management

Analyse, interpret and present medicines data to highlight issues and risks to support decision making.

Medicines quality improvement

Undertake simple audits of prescribing in areas directed by the GPs, feedback the results and implement changes in conjunction with the practice team.

Medicines safety

Implement changes to medicines that result from MHRA alerts, product withdrawal and other local and national guidance.

Implementation of local/national guidelines and formulary recommendations

Agree and review Prescribing Formularies and Protocols and monitor compliance levels.

Cost Effectiveness

Support the delivery of QOF, incentive schemes, QIPP and other quality or cost effectiveness initiatives

Education and Training

Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics and medicines optimisation.

Care Quality Commission

Work with the general practice team to ensure the practice is compliant with CQC standards where medicines are involved.

Public health

To support public health (including vaccination) campaigns. To provide specialist knowledge on all public health programmes available to the general public.

2. Collaborative Working Relationships

Should be proficient in communicating with relevant stakeholders (including patients, senior and peer colleagues, and other professionals, other NHS/private organisations e.g. ICB)

Recognise personal limitations and refer to more appropriate colleague(s) when necessary

Actively work toward developing and maintaining effective working relationships both within and outside the practice and locality

Foster and maintain strong links with all services across locality, working collaboratively and sustainably across General Practice, with ICB Colleagues, Medicines Management Team and with Community and Hospital Teams to benefit from Peer Support and ensure best Patient Care

3. Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required

Knowledge of current NHS policies, processes and structures

Understanding of the data protection act, GDPR and patient confidentiality, clinical governance, information governance and Caldicott requirements

Ability to use GP systems - EMIS Web is desirable

4. Leadership:

Demonstrate understanding of the pharmacy role in governance and implement this appropriately within the workplace, as well as understanding and contributing to the workplace vision

Promote diversity and equality in people management techniques and leads by example

5. Education, Training and Development:

Act as a role model to members in the team and/or service and be able to provide mentorship where applicable

Apply self-development through continuous professional development activity; working alongside senior colleagues to identify areas to develop

Participate in the delivery of formal education programmes for trainee pharmacists and undergraduate students

Ensure appropriate clinical supervision is in place to support development and enrol onto review

and appraisal systems within the practice

6. Research and Evaluation:

Critically evaluate and review literature, identifying where there is a gap in the evidence base to support practice

Be proficient in providing evidence suitable for presentations at practice level

Understand the principles of research governance and demonstrate ability to apply research evidence base into working place

Support the practice agenda to expand the support of existing clinical trials

7. Health and Safety/Risk Management

The post-holder must always comply with Practice Health and Safety policies, in particular by following agreed safe working procedures and reporting incidents using the organisations Incident Reporting System

The post-holder will comply with the Data Protection Act (1984) and the Access to Health Records Act (1990)

8. Equality and Diversity

The post-holder must co-operate with all policies and procedures designed to ensure equality of employment. Co-workers, patients and visitors must be treated equally irrespective of gender, ethnic origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion etc.

9. Respect for Patient Confidentiality

The post-holder should always respect patient confidentiality and not divulge patient information unless sanctioned by the requirements of the role.

10. Special Working Conditions

The post-holder may have contact with body fluids i.e., wound exudates; urine etc while in clinical practice.