The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7188 p340-341
9 March 2002

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How the primary care technician's role is developing

Pharmacists working in primary care groups are becoming unable to meet all the demands being placed on them. However, because most are from secondary care they are used to working with technicians. Regular advertisements can be seen in The Pharmaceutical Journal for technician posts in PCGs and trusts, and Lucy Smart, a technician from Worcestershire Health Authority, explained her role working with GP practices in Bromsgrove and Redditch PCGs. She mainly works on prescribing, audit and projects and closely liaises with the health authority pharmacist adviser, the coronary care advisory nurse and the IT lead. The pharmacist's role is policy — interpreting National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance, budget setting and establishing patient group directions. Ms Smart's role is to advise GPs on repeat prescribing, generic switching, dosage optimisation (following protocols and procedures), prescribing incentive scheme audits, cost saving and quality initiatives.

Project

She described one project she had undertaken which involved assessing the medication services that could be provided for the visually impaired. This had involved contacting the Royal National Institute for the Blind, a secondary care trust with a specialist eye unit and patients in their homes.

There are now 60 to 70 technicians working in PCGs and they have set up a national support group called PASTA. Ms Smart also meets regularly with 10 PCG technicians who have formed the Midlands Technicians Group. She finds it useful to keep in contact with secondary care colleagues for medical information queries and interface issues.

Ms Smart described the future as an exciting time for technicians with responsibility passing from health authorities to PCTs, opportunities for technicians to be involved in medication reviews and patient counselling at pharmacy-led clinics, and with the medicines management aspects of national service frameworks.