MPs’ report highlights pharmacy role in reducing antipsychotic
use
Anette Romanenko/Dreamstime.com
Residents of nursing homes are given inappropriate medicines, say
MPs |
Community pharmacists could play a leading role in reducing inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to people with dementia living in care homes, according to an influential parliamentary report published this week.
(PDF 240K)
The MPs describe over-prescribing of antipsychotics in nursing homes
as a significant problem and report widespread inappropriate prescribing
for people with dementia who have mild behavioural symptoms.
The report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia calls for
a national audit of prescribing patterns of antipsychotics to people
with dementia in care homes as well as a programme of local audits.
The MPs also want to see an appraisal by the National Institute for Health
and Clinical Excellence into the cost-effectiveness of prescribing these
drugs to dementia patients.
The report, “Always the last resort”, also calls for the
introduction of tighter mandatory systems and protocols to control the
prescribing of antipsychotics to people with dementia and to ensure prompt
review and discontinuation of the drugs if appropriate.
It recommends that medicine reviews should be carried out at least every
three months and prescriptions should be time-limited.
The review should be the responsibility of a “single named individual” but
MPs held back from recommending who should take on that new role.
The report does, however, point out that the charity For Dementia believes
that the review could best be carried out by community pharmacists and
the report highlights the US model of best practice by which nursing
homes are legally required to employ a consultant pharmacist who has
the exclusive role of reviewing residents’ medication every two
to three months.
Hazel Sommerville, head pharmacist at the Commission for Social Care
Inspection, who gave evidence to the MPs, said after the report was released: “I
welcome the recommendation of a minimum three-month review so long as
the review is robust and that the person carrying it out has access to
clinical records in order for it to be any value to the person with dementia.
“The pharmacy White Paper opens that door to community pharmacists.”
|
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader