Chairmans Blog: Are Pharmacists the answer?

There has been a lot of chatter recently about having more pharmacy involvement in GP surgeries. I’m absolutely wedded to the principle that this is a good idea...as, without a doubt, this will improve patient care, and take some of the load off hard pressed GPs. I’m not exactly sure who will pay for this, however, and I don’t want it to come out of community pharmacy remuneration...

My wife is a prescribing support pharmacist in many surgeries and I know that if she was commissioned to do more, then the result would be better care for patients – especially those that are discharged from hospital.  

But why stop there? Surely with better IT links and a common patient record, then community pharmacies could do so much more...Community Pharmacists are a rich resource that could be used more effectively to improve patient care – we just need to be given the chance!  

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