Clinical pharmacists in general practice: value for patients and the practice of a new role

Abstract

In their article on the management of patients with hypertension, West and Isom highlighted the value of a community pharmacist in supporting these patients.1 There is no doubt that community pharmacy can be part of a solution to the current and future demands facing the NHS: from supporting patients to help them get the most from their medicines, fielding some of the many self-limiting minor ailment consultations, to driving the prevention agenda through the Healthy Living Pharmacy concept. The authors note that, ‘pharmacists could be performing more complex tasks than currently by contributing to clinical care and health improvement’. A new and evolving role of the clinical medical practice pharmacist, where the pharmacist with an independent prescriber qualification is part of the general practice team, highlights the potential of the pharmacist’s capability. We describe this role of the clinical practice pharmacist below, which has been piloted in the Tamar Valley medical practices in Cornwall. To meet the demand of an ageing population with more chronic conditions there will need to be an increase in the number of clinicians. This will be essential in primary care, with the transformation of the NHS and more complex care being delivered in the community. However, there is currently a recruitment crisis with significant predicted shortfalls in numbers of GPs and practice nurses over the next decade. …