Community pharmacists should be able to call on hospital pharmacists
for support
Norman Lannigan: hospital specialist pharmacist role needs to be
extended |
Pharmacists working in the community should have access to hospital pharmacists for help with dealing with patients with complex treatment regimens, according to Norman
Lannigan, lead pharmacist for acute care, mental health and innovation at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Speaking at the annual Hospital Pharmacist conference in London
last week, Mr Lannigan discussed the challenge of improving the transfer
of
information between primary and secondary care.
He told participants
that this challenge is being met in Scotland through the implementation
of Scotland’s community pharmacy contract — a contract that
he described as “the most exciting
development during my 25 years in hospital pharmacy”.
“In Scotland, we are moving away from paying community pharmacists for
dispensing medicines, and paying them instead for caring for patients,” said
Mr Lannigan. “Therefore, [community pharmacists] are beginning
to talk the same language [as hospital pharmacists].”
With the increasing shift towards keeping patients out of hospital, community
pharmacists can expect increased contact with patients who have complex
health problems.
Mr Lannigan added: “The role of the specialist pharmacist in a
hospital will need to be extended, allowing them to become a point of
reference for community pharmacies for managing complex patients.”
The registration of patients at community pharmacies and a shift from
remuneration based on dispensing volume is essential for improving the
transfer of information across the interface, said Mr Lannigan. He believes
that other home nations will have to implement similar systems if they
are to be successfull in improving communication between primary and
secondary care.
A culture change will be required from hospital pharmacists in order
to ensure that the necessary information is transferred to the community
pharmacist, said Mr Lannigan. The responsibility of the hospital pharmacist
will no longer end when the patient leaves the hospital.
A full report of the conference will appear in the March
edition of Hospital
Pharmacist. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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