Pharmacy will improve commissioning by practices
Involving non-medical health care professionals — including pharmacists — in practice-based commissioning at all levels will result in key benefits, according to the latest PBC
bulletin published on the Primary Care Contracting website.
“Bulletin 3 — multiprofessional involvement in PBC” states
that there are opportunities to capitalise on services provided by other
health care professionals that contribute to the achievement of NHS priorities,
such as self care through community pharmacies.
It warns that PBC could be considered vulnerable where it relies on GPs
and GP practices both to provide and commission services, unless effective
clinical governance structures are in place.
“Greater multiprofessional involvement means a wider range of information
is available from a wider range of sources. The views of other clinicians
can be used to provide a more balanced perspective to PBC and there is
less risk of vested interests over-riding objective decision-making,” it
states.
John Carr, professional executive committee pharmacist at East Staffordshire
Primary Care Trust, agrees that pharmacists should be involved in PBC.
He told The Journal: “When you reflect back to five years ago,
the relationship between pharmacists and doctors was often distant. The
relationship has become quite close in the past few years and I believe
that pharmacists would have every right to expect their involvement in
practice-based commissioning groups.”
The bulletin also says that non-medical health care professionals have
a key role to play in holding indicative budgets, supporting or overseeing
commissioning decisions and being micro-commissioners. It lists key benefits
of this, including that they will help to ensure effective planning,
service improvement and development, and the NHS will maximise the use
of existing resources.
The bulletin lists a number of steps that can be taken by PCTs to ensure
that other health care professionals become involved in PBC from an early
stage. It recommends that the infrastructure within a PCT and any developing
commissioning clusters must be conducive to multiprofessional involvement. “The
composition of any committee must ensure a balanced and equitable mix
of interests and views,” it says. It adds that the involvement
of key stakeholder groups, such as local pharmaceutical committees, within
new PCT and locality structures could be built upon to support clinical
governance.
The bulletin also highlights the importance of nurturing new and existing
partnerships between GPs and pharmacies, such as those developed through
repeat dispensing schemes and medicines use reviews.
PCTs are also advised to ensure information about PBC is communicated
effectively, educational, training and development needs are addressed
and that change and uncertainty as a result of reconfiguration is managed.
The bulletin can be accessed via the
PCC website |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
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