The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7462 p92
28 July 2007

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Practice-based commissioning warning

Community pharmacists' profits could be negatively affected if they fail to get involved with practice-based commissioning, according to guidance launched this week by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (PDF 260K).

The guidance, developed with support from the National Pharmacy Association, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, the Company Chemists’ Association and NHS Primary Care Contracting, outlines the benefits for community pharmacists who become involved in PBC as well as the risks of not doing so.

It warns of a potential loss of profitability and, therefore, money to reinvest in skill mix, premises and new opportunities because new services that pharmacists could provide may go to other organisations or professions.

Lack of involvement in PBC could also lead to loss of patient loyalty and footfall, exclusion from the design and delivery of new patient care pathways, isolation from other primary care providers and a lack of recognition from other health care professionals and commissioners, it says.

The guidance makes recommendations about what needs to happen locally, in terms of what local pharmaceutical committees and community pharmacists should do, and gives examples of what pharmacists could offer under PBC. It also provides links to resources and information on the subject.

Paul Bennett, chairman of the Society’s English Pharmacy Board, said: “This PBC guide is essential in recognising the valuable input pharmacists can make in terms of both the commissioning and the provision of services through successful integration into primary care. Community pharmacists are already introducing service redesign in areas such as prescribing, smoking cessation and sexual health, and with their increased commitment to PBC programmes the benefits to patients will continue to develop.”

“Practice-based commissioning: a resource for community pharmacists in England”, the first in a series of Society documents addressing PBC, is also published as an Article in The Journal this week (p103).