The session followed on from a recent investigation into long-term health conditions, and focused on the proposed Community Pharmacy Care Plan Service and Universal Community Pharmacy Care Framework.
The proposals were designed to improve access to health professionals, assist patients with chronic conditions to self-care, facilitate medicines optimisation and reduce waste, and help relieve pressure on other parts of the NHS through better integration and coordinated care.
The APPG meeting was an opportune time for PDA Chairman Mark Koziol to present ‘Wider than Medicines: A pharmacy perspective on creating an integrated health system’. The long-term strategy for the pharmacy sector was launched at The Clinical Pharmacy Congress last month and builds on various earlier proposals published by the PDA, as part of our “Road Map” strategy process:
- Review of NHS Pharmaceutical Care of patients in the community of Scotland
- Reducing unnecesary A&E attendances and avoidable admissions in England
The Wider than Medicines strategy outlines the steps needed to create an intelligent system that focuses on joined-up patient care, integrating the work of primary care pharmacists, GP practice-based pharmacists, hospital pharmacists, group practice pharmacists and community pharmacists. This strategy is based on pharmaceutical care and provides a professionally fulfilling and sustainable long-term future for all pharmacists.
By taking charge of the medicines and pharmaceutical care agenda, it helps to secure the long-term health of the public as well as meet important NHS objectives.
Wider than Medicines can be downloaded here.
