Clinical Pharmacist

Job responsibilities

• Clinical
• Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient facing role to clinically assess and treat patients using their expert knowledge of medicines for specific disease areas
• Be responsible for the care management of patients with chronic diseases undertake clinical medication reviews to proactively manage people with complex polypharmacy, especially the elderly, people in care homes, those with multiple co-morbidities (frailty, COPD and asthma) and people with learning disabilities or autism
• Provide specialist expertise in the use of medicines whilst helping to address both the public health and social care needs of patients at the PCNs practice(s) and to help in tackling inequalities
• Provide leadership on person-centred medicines optimisation (including ensuring prescribers in the practice conserve antibiotics in line with local antimicrobial stewardship guidance) and quality improvement, whilst contributing to the quality and outcomes framework and enhanced services
• Through structured medication reviews, support patients to take their medications to get the best from them, reduce waste and promote self-care
• Have a role in supporting further integration of general practice with the wider healthcare teams (including community and hospital pharmacy) to help improve patient outcomes, ensure better access to healthcare and help manage general practice workload
• Develop relationships and work closely with other pharmacy professionals across PCNs and the wider health and social care system
• Take a central role in the clinical aspects of shared care protocols, clinical research with medicines, liaison with specialist pharmacists (including mental health and reduction of inappropriate antipsychotic use in people with learning difficulties), liaison with community pharmacists and anticoagulation
• Be part of a professional clinical network and have access to appropriate clinical supervision
• High risk drug monitoring, and involved in audits, set by CCG or towards borough wide aims and targets. Run searches for local and national medication alerts/shortages.

LTC Management

• See (where appropriate) patients with single or multiple medical problems where medicine optimisation is required (e.g. COPD, asthma).
• Review the on-going need for each medicine, a review of monitoring needs and an opportunity to support patients with their medicines taking ensuring they get the best use of their medicines (i.e. medicines optimisation)
• Make appropriate recommendations to Senior Pharmacists or GPs for medicine improvement

Management of common/minor/self-limiting ailments

• Managing caseload of patients with common/minor/self-limiting ailments while working within a scope of practice and limits of competence.
• Signposting to community pharmacy and referring to GPs or other healthcare professionals where appropriate Patient facing medicines support

Medicines support to patients

• Provide patient clinics for those with questions, queries and concerns about their medicines in the practice
• To reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into care homes, including identifying and rectifying unexplained changes and working with patients and community
• Pharmacists to ensure patients receive the medicines they need post discharge
• Set up and manage systems to ensure continuity of medicines supply to high risk groups of patients (e.g. those with medicine compliance aids or those in care homes).

Medicines support to practice staff

• Answers relevant medicine-related enquiries from GPs, other practice staff, other healthcare teams (e.g. community pharmacy) and patients with queries about medicines.
• Suggesting and recommending solutions.
• Providing follow up for patients to monitor the effect of any changes
• Do appropriate database searches, in keeping MHRA and NICE alerts/ guidance to support safe patient care.

Signposting

• Ensure that patients are referred to the appropriate healthcare professional for the appropriate level of care within an appropriate period e.g. pathology results, common/minor ailments, acute conditions, long term condition reviews etc

Repeat prescribing

• Produce and implement a practice repeat prescribing policy.
• Manage the repeat prescribing reauthorisation process by reviewing patient requests for repeat prescriptions and reviewing medicines reaching review dates and flagging up those needing a review.
• Ensure patients have appropriate monitoring tests in place when required.

Risk stratification

• Identification of cohorts of patients at high risk of harm from medicines through pre-prepared practice computer searches.
• This might include risks that are patient related, medicine related, or both

Service development

• Contribute pharmaceutical advice for the development ...