Of 211 respondents to a straw poll, conducted on the C+D website July 20 - August 8, 20% said they never use MURs to recommend an alternative to a patient’s prescribed medication.

Half of pharmacists said they suggest a medicine change during one in every 20 MURs "or less”, while 20% said this occurs “in one in 10”.

Only 8% said they make a recommendation during one in every four MURs or more regularly.

Jay Patel, pharmacist and co-founder of agency WeLocum, said he “would have expected pharmacists to recommend alternatives more often”.
 
The most significant result is the [20%] who never recommend an alternative,” Mr Patel told C+D. “It would be interesting to see how many of [their] patients felt the MUR was beneficial.”

West Yorkshire pharmacist Chris Bonsell suggested that these pharmacists should make sure they ask MUR patients whether they are struggling to "physically get [their medicine] into their body".

"Some brands offer smaller tablets. Or would a capsule, solution or patch be preferable? Asking a patient is key," he told C+D.

What are the most commonly recommended changes?

The most common changes recommended by pharmacists during MURs relate to respiratory medication, according to a separate C+D poll.

This was followed closely by changes to cardiovascular medication, according to a the poll of 105 pharmacists, which ran August 2-12.