Pharmacists paid for successful interventions by Eastbourne PCT
Community pharmacists in Eastbourne will be paid £5 for each successful intervention they make as part of an independent medicines management scheme run by Eastbourne Downs Primary Care Trust.
Jackie Lamberty, head of pharmacy at Eastbourne Downs PCT, told The Journal
that pharmacists will make recommendations about changes to prescriptions
by using a simple form to send to general practitioners. GPs will then
either tick a box to approve the change or state a brief reason why the
change should not be made.
Pharmacists will also be able to receive a £5 fee for not dispensing
items that are unwanted, either because of duplication on the prescription
or because patients say they have not used all of their existing supply
of medication.
“We wanted to find a way in which pharmacists can be recognised
for their contributions to the primary health care team. They cannot
do it just
for love, there has to be some kind of reimbursement,” Mrs Lamberty
said.
The aim is to start with a small range of interventions for which pharmacists
will be paid. If the scheme is successful then the range will be extended.
Suitable interventions include “double dose” switches, such
as 2 x 10mg to 1 x 20mg, and approved brand or generic switches. The
scheme will run for 12 months initially with a review after six months.
All 34 community pharmacies in the area are eligible to take part. The
scheme is expected to be self-financing from the savings generated by
the pharmacists’ interventions.
The medicines management scheme has been developed from work carried
out by the Eastbourne Pharmacy Forum.
After the forum was formed in October 2001, a group of 15 community pharmacists
used clinical governance funds from the Department of Health to analyse
their interventions. Over a four-week period, 224 interventions were
made, divided equally between “clinical” and “value-added” categories.
Another group of pharmacists audited the value of medicines returned
to pharmacies.
Using both of these pieces of work, a successful bid was made to the
PCT to establish the medicines management scheme.
The PCT has subsequently applied to join the fourth wave of the National
Medicines Management Collaborative. |
