Pharmacists’ chronic disease role recognised
Community pharmacists in England give the NHS a head start in managing chronic illness. So says a Department of Health guide to chronic disease management published last month.
“Chronic disease management: a compendium of information” lists
pharmacists as one of the main providers of chronic disease care in primary
care. It adds that the new pharmacy contract, which has yet to be agreed
by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and the DoH, will
allow primary care trusts to broaden the services that are available
in the community.
National Pharmaceutical Association chief executive John D’Arcy
said: “We are delighted that the message is getting through. Managing
chronic disease is primarily a community-based activity, aimed at reducing
the need for expensive secondary care interventions that deal with the
consequences of poorly controlled conditions.”
He added that many hospital admissions are due to older people’s
inability to manage drug therapy. “Half of all people with chronic
conditions fail to take their medicines properly, so effective chronic
disease management needs to involve a more pronounced effort to improve
medicines use. Community pharmacist-led medicines management may soon
become widespread, with the inclusion of medicines use review as an advanced
service in the proposed new national community pharmacy contract providing
a stepping stone.”
The guide is available here |
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