Heart failure service extended to Glasgow’s community pharmacists
Community pharmacists across Glasgow will start offering a heart failure service next week. Pharmacists working in GP surgeries and in secondary care in the city have been involved
in a heart failure service for some time (PJ, 12 June 2004, p741).
“It is about closing the loop,” explained project co-ordinator
Paul Forsyth. “When a specialist prescribing support or hospital
pharmacist carries out a medication review for heart failure patients
there are
often outstanding issues that need to be followed up. These can be tackled
by community pharmacists.”
Richard Lowrie, primary care project lead, commented: “This is
the first time there has been a proper system for referral to community
pharmacists in Glasgow. It is a fantastic opportunity for patients and
pharmacists to get involved in an overlooked stage of chronic disease
management.”
Patients will be referred to the community pharmacy of their choice by
prescribing support pharmacists, hospital pharmacists or heart failure
liaison nurses. As well as following up any specified issues, community
pharmacists will also carry out an initial assessment to determine a
patient’s symptoms and will then monitor progress against this
baseline. “The aim is to make interventions that increase adherence
as well as identify any problems that need to be referred,” explained
Mr Lowrie.
Training sessions were held this week. Altogether, 180 pharmacists booked
places from 130 of Glasgow’s 217 community pharmacies. Final negotiations
on funding for the service are due to be completed this week. The process
is integrated with Glasgow’s heart failure strategy and the project
leads, Mr Lowrie and Steve McGlynn, principal pharmacist at North Glasgow
University Hospitals, are part of Glasgow’s Heart Managed Clinical
Network. |
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