PCN Clinical Pharmacist
The post holder will provide support to general practice staff with regards to prescription and medication queries. They will deal with acute prescription requests, and medicines reconciliation on transfer of care and systems for safer prescribing, provide expertise in clinical medicines advice while addressing both public and social care needs of patient in the GP practice (s).
The post holder will work across a number of practices providing clinical guidance on medicines optimisation and quality improvement and manage some aspects of the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services. Key Responsibilities: The post holder will provide support to meet the individual needs of Practices.
Responsibilities may vary across Practices and can include: Repeat prescribing review Practice repeat prescribing policies. Ensure patients have appropriate monitoring tests in place when required. Reduce inappropriate poly-pharmacy and wasteful prescribing and address public health and social needs of patients through clinical medication review.
This would be a level 3 medication review looking at the patients full clinical condition e.g. blood monitoring, interface care arrangements, social isolation. Reconcile medicines following hospital discharge and work with patients and community pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge.
Contribute to reductions in medicine related hospital admissions and readmissions by supporting patients to get the best outcomes from their medicines and identifying and addressing medicines related issues. Interface with community and hospital pharmacy colleagues and develop referral processes between primary care professionals including the promotion of the repeat dispensing service.
Manage the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing requests for repeat prescriptions and medicines reaching review dates. Manage patients, Practice staff and other health care professionals medicine queries. Increase quality and safety of prescribing through mechanisms such as audit and PDSA cycles.
Manage Practice formularies to improve the quality, safety and cost effectiveness of prescribing. Implement drug withdrawals and alerts e.g. MHRA aimed at improving medicines safety. Work with primary care professionals and patients to implement NICE and other evidence based guidelines.
Be involved in clinics where medicines are the main interventions e.g. anticoagulant monitoring clinics, high risk drug monitoring. Contribute to patient facing multi-morbidity long term condition reviews and multi-disciplinary reviews. Review daily Pathology results for patients on known medicines (if required) Act as a source of medicines information for all of the Practice team and patients (e.g. around doses, side effects, adverse events, possible alternatives if stock issues).
Provide education and training to primary healthcare team on therapeutics and medicines optimisation. Signposting to community pharmacy and referring to GPs or other healthcare professionals, where appropriate. Undertake Patient facing domiciliary and care home medication reviews and produce recommendations for the nurses or GPs on prescribing and monitoring.Work with care home staff to improve safety of medicines ordering and administration.The jobholder may be required at any time to undertake any work up to and/or at a level consistent with existing responsibilities. Confidentiality: In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters.
They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately In the performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers.
They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential. Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.
Leadership personal and people development Take responsibility for own development learning and performance including participating in clinical supervision and acting as a positive role model Support the development of others in order to maximise potential.
Actively promote the workplace as a learning environment, encouraging everyone to learn from each other and from external good practice. Lead others to make realistic self-assessment of their application of knowledge and skills, challenging any complacency and actions that are not in the interest of the public and/or users of services.
Act as a clinical leader Lead in planning and implementing changes within the area of care and responsibility. Lead and participate in the development of local guidelines, protocols and standards. Promote the role Pharmacist role in the provision of care.
Ensure awareness of sources of support and guidance (eg PALS), and provide information in an acceptable format to all patients, recognising any difficulties and referring where appropriate Health & Safety: The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the practice Health & Safety Policy, to include: Using personal security systems within the workplace according to practice guidelines.
Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks. Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills. Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards.
Reporting potential risks identified. Management of risk Manage and assess risk within the areas of responsibility, ensuring adequate measures are in place to protect staff and patients. Monitor work areas and practices to ensure they are safe and free from hazards and conform to health, safety and security legislation, policies, procedures and guidelines.
Ensure safe storage, rotation and disposal of vaccines and drugs is undertaken. Where appropriate, oversee the monitoring, stock control and documentation of controlled drug usage according to legal requirements. Undertake mandatory and statutory training.
Apply infection control measures within the practice according to local and national guidelines. Apply policies that reduce environmental health risks, are culturally sensitive and increase access to health care for all. Participate in the local implementation strategies that are aligned to the values and culture of general practice Equality and Diversity: The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers and colleagues, to include: Acting in a way that recognizes the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with practice procedures and policies, and current legislation.
Respecting the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers and colleagues. Behaving in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings priorities and rights. Personal/Professional Development: The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include: The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by the practice as part of this employment, such training to include:.
Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development. Taking responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrating skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.Quality: The post-holder will strive to maintain quality within the practice, and will:. Recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct. Produce accurate, contemporaneous and complete records of patient consultation, consistent with legislation, policies and procedures.
Assess effectiveness of care delivery through self and peer review, benchmarking and formal evaluation. Alert other team members to issues of quality and risk. Assess own performance and take accountability for own actions, either directly or under supervision.
Contribute to the effectiveness of the team by reflecting on own and team activities and making suggestions on ways to improve and enhance the teams performance. Work effectively with individuals in other agencies to meet patients needs. Effectively manage own time, workload and resources.
Communication: The post-holder should recognize the importance of effective communication within the team and will: Communicate effectively with other team members.Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly.
Communicate effectively with patients and carers. Recognise peoples needs for alternative methods of communication and respond accordingly. Contribution to the Implementation of Services: The post-holder will: Apply practice policies, standards and guidance.
Participate in audit where appropriate.Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work. Participate in audit where appropriate.