High standards sought in doctor dispensing
The Society should take steps to ensure equally high standards of dispensing in pharmacies and in dispensing medical practices, the branch
representatives' meeting decided.
Peter Hopley (Northumbrian) moved: “That the Society should approach
the medical profession with the aim of ensuring good practice in rural
areas through collaboration between the professions, to promote and attain
equally high standards for the dispensing of medicines to patients in
the community.” He said that the pharmacy profession was making
little effort to address the issue. It should take the opportunity now
while the GP contract is new and VAT regulations are affecting doctors.
It should propose to the medical profession radical new measures that
offer positive solutions to these problems.
Professional supervision should be defined so that doctors and pharmacists
work to the same standard. Community pharmacists should be encouraged
to participate in the training of their local doctors’ dispensing
staff, perhaps providing work experience and pharmaceutical supervision
to supplement distance learning courses. Full co-operation could see
local pharmacists acting as advisers to doctors, and perhaps having responsibility
for the dispensary operational policies, purchasing decisions, staff
training and clinical governance. There was also a need for better and
more formal expression of patient choice. Finally, where pharmacists
dispense to patients in remote rural areas, they need additional support.
New, radical and positive measures such as these should be firmly put
to the medical profession in a spirit of
co-operation.
Timothy Billings (South East Metropolitan) said that the issue is not
confined to rural areas. London has a large number of dispensing medical
practices in the independent sector. He suggested the removal from the
motion of the words “in rural areas”.
The proposer accepted the amendment and the amended motion was then carried
without further debate.
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