The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7471 p340
29 September 2007

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Independent prescriber starts clinic in own pharmacy

Kamal Mahasuria, director of Altwood Pharmacy in Maidenhead, Berkshire, became one of the first pharmacist independent prescribers to write an NHS prescription in his community pharmacy this week. Mr Mahasuria is running an asthma clinic from his pharmacy in partnership with a local GP practice.

It has taken two years for Mr Mahasuria to bring the clinic to fruition following intense negotiations with his primary care trust.

He told The Journal that he encountered initial resistance from both the primary care trust and local GP practices. “GPs are wrongly worried about loss of income in the long term if pharmacists start to run NHS clinics from their premises. This is simply not true and shows a lack of understanding of what the new community pharmacy contract is all about,” said Mr Mahasuria. “It is about working in partnership with GPs to enhance patient care.”

The clinic opened in July 2007 and Mr Mahasuria saw his first patient earlier this month. He aims to recruit 10 to 20 patients, whom he will see about six to 12 times a year.

“I firmly believe that the right place for community pharmacists to prescribe is from within their pharmacy,” said Mr Mahasuria. “As soon as you take the clinic into a GP practice, it loses the great advantage of community pharmacy, which is its accessibility.” Mr Mahasuria does not have a set clinic time — patients can make an appointment at a time convenient for them.

The business case for the clinic is that more intensive management of mild to moderate asthma patients will lead to a reduction in emergency hospital admissions. “Low-risk patients are the most frequent attenders at accident and emergency, often because they stop treatment once they feel well. I will be seeing these patients every time they require a new prescription.”

Mr Mahasuria does not have electronic access to patient records from his pharmacy and is currently viewing and updating records at the GP practice.

The clinic is a pilot project which will be evaluated after one year. If successful, Mr Mahasuria plans to extend it to include other long-term conditions as well as minor ailments.