Join in Ask About Medicines Week
See also "Ask about medicines" week links
| Pharmacists interested in concordance
might like to consider taking part in Ask About Medicines Week
(12 - 18 October). Debbie Andalo explains what it all means |
Debbie Andalo is a freelance
journalist
|
Pharmacists will be able to down-load from the internet
an Ask About Medicines Week starter pack which will guide them through
the role they
can play in the national campaign to boost concordance. The packs are
due to be available on the campaign website (www.askaboutmedicines.org)
from September. They will include a press release template, posters and
details of a model patient consultation
to help encourage patients to discuss their medication. Pharmacists will
also be advised about how they can set up a patient clinic to improve
communication about medicines management and increase medication reviews.
Further information
Ask About Medicines Week runs from 12-18 October.
Starter packs including posters and model press releases will be
available, from September, at www.askaboutmedicines.org
AAMW packs for organisations are already available online.
Every pharmacist will receive 200 credit card size “prompt” cards
for patients.
The campaign is run by a consortium made up of the Medicines Partnership;
the BMA’s Doctor Patient Partnership and PECMI (Promoting
Excellence in Consumer Medicines Information).
|
A key part of the pack will be around 200 pocket-size cards— available in 10 different languages — which
can be pressed out of a campaign leaflet and kept by patients for future
reference. The
card lists simple questions patients can ask their pharmacist about their
medicines.
The card has already been piloted at four sites around the country with
the help of the charity Age Concern. Redbridge primary care trust assistant
director of medicines management Kiran Shaw, who was involved in a
pilot, said: “One advantage of the card is its size so patients
can carry it around with them. I think it will help create an awareness
of the importance of the appropriate use of medicines and compliance
and also help patients understand what they are being treated for.”
The AAMW campaign runs from 12-18 October. That week there will be special
themed editions of The Pharmaceutical Journal and the BMJ. Any pharmacist
interested in taking part in the campaign should contact their primary
care trust or their local pharmaceutical adviser to see how they can
get involved or download the starter pack.
Chairman of the executive group of AAMW David Dickinson said: “ We
have already had some good feedback about the campaign from PCTs and
pharmacists working with PCTs as well as the medicines information network,
which is an informal network of pharmacists at regional level.”
The dedicated campaign website is expected to be up and running during
August. Pharmacy packs will be available online from September but other
packs aimed at individual organisations are already available. Mr Dickinson
said: “ We expect nurses to give the same sort of advocacy and
help encourage people to talk through issues around their medication
although they will not be as accessible as pharmacists. We have always
seen pharmacists as being the top audience and, because of the nature
of people asking questions about medicines, they are the best qualified
group.”
Kristin McCarthy, director of the Doctor Patient Partnership, commented: “I
am involved in a lot of campaigns but this one is really hitting a nerve.
There is already a great awareness of what we are trying to do. The relationship
between the aged and pharmacists particularly is really positive and
as the pharmacy role increases in primary care this campaign is giving
them a step forward in achieving that.” |
