Clinical Pharmacist

The following are the core responsibilities of the Clinical Pharmacist delivering health services.

• a. Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient-facing role to clinically assess and treat patients using their expert knowledge of medicines for specific disease areas, such as HTN and CVD
• b. To proactively manage the medication review process within the surgery, taking overall responsibility for ensuring medication reviews are completed in a timely manner, are safe and effective, to include housebound patients and those living in local care and nursing homes
• c. Through structured medication reviews, support patients to take their medications to get the best from them, reduce waste and promote self-care
• d. Be a prescriber, or completing training to become a prescriber, and work with and alongside the general practice team
• e. To manage patient discharge summaries and hospital letters, ensuring information is accurately transferred and the correct medication prescribed in primary care
• f. To complete the CPPE programme (if not already completed)
• g. Be responsible for the care management of patients with chronic diseases and undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, especially the elderly, people in care homes, those with multiple co-morbidities (in particular frailty, COPD and asthma) and people with learning disabilities or autism (through STOMP Stop Over Medication Programme)
• h. Provide specialist expertise in the use of medicines whilst helping to address both the public health and social care needs of patients at the organisation and to help in tackling inequalities
• i. Provide leadership on person-centered medicines optimisation (including ensuring prescribers in the practice conserve antibiotics in line with local antimicrobial stewardship guidance) and quality improvement, whilst contributing to the Quality and Outcomes Framework and enhanced services
• j. Have a leadership role in supporting further integration of general practice with the wider healthcare teams (including community and hospital pharmacy) to help to improve patient outcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help to manage general practice workload
• k. Develop relationships and work closely with other pharmacy professionals across the wider health and social care system
• l. Take a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols, clinical research with medicines, liaison with specialist pharmacists (including mental health and reduction of inappropriate antipsychotic use in people with learning difficulties), liaison with community pharmacists, and anticoagulation
• m. Be part of a professional clinical network and have access to appropriate clinical supervision. Appropriate clinical supervision means:
• n. Each Clinical Pharmacist must receive a minimum of one supervision session per month by a senior clinical pharmacist
• o. The Senior Clinical Pharmacist must receive a minimum of one supervision session every three months by a GP clinical supervisor
• p. Each Clinical Pharmacist will have access to an assigned GP clinical supervisor for support and development
• q. A ratio of one Senior Clinical Pharmacist to no more than five junior Clinical Pharmacists, with appropriate peer support and supervision in place
• r. Act as the point of contact for all medicine related matters, establishing positive working relationships
• s. Consult patients within defined levels of competence and independently prescribe acute and repeat medication
• t. Receive referrals and directed patients from triage services and other clinicians
• u. In conjunction with NICE guidance, consult with patients to initiate new medications, to include statins, bisphosphonates and DOACs
• v. In conjunction with the Therapeutic Advisory Group (TAG) and commissioning group, monitor Red and expensive drugs
• w. Receive and resolve medicines queries from patients and other staff
• x. Manage a caseload of complex patients
• y. Manage a therapeutic drug monitoring system and the recall of patients taking high risk drugs, i.e., anticoagulants, anticonvulsants and DMARDs, etc.
• z. Deliver long term condition clinics and home visits,…