Medicines Management
Issue no 4, p3
July/August 2002

This article
Reprint
Photocopy

News summary

NI pharmacy scheme closes in on target

Training to enable community pharmacists to take part in the "Managing your medicines" initiative is well underway in the Eastern Health and Social Services Board area of Northern Ireland.

The scheme has set a target of 30 per cent of the community pharmacies in the board's area providing this medicine management service by March 2003. So far, about 25 per cent of community pharmacies can provide the service. To provide the service community pharmacists must complete a 16-hour training programme, involving training workshops and a self-study course. In the past four months over 60 pharmacists have participated in the programme. Once they have completed the training pharmacists can then provide medicines management services under an elective contract with the board.

Dr Martin Kerr, community pharmacy development pharmacist, at the EHSSB, said there was a lot of enthusiasm for training among pharmacists at the moment.

"They can see the benefits of the service and the opportunity to become more actively involved in the primary care team. There have been some initial obstacles such as the time commitment and concerns over the volume of documentation. We are working to help community pharmacists overcome these difficulties and the fact that the manpower shortage in terms of locums may be easing will help," he said.

Dr Kerr added that many community pharmacists have already enrolled patients who meet the scheme's criteria: those on three or more cardiovascular drugs or six systemic medicines, or who have risk factors such as living alone, recent discharge from hospital or poor compliance with medications.