Pharmacists must focus on medicines optimisation and adherence, C+D Senators urged last week.

Pharmacists' role in supplying medicines was "pointless" if they were not taken or not taken properly, LPC secretary Andrew McCoig told the C+D Senate last week.

And this week PSNC chief executive Sue Sharpe agreed that the future of community pharmacy – and therefore its funding framework – should be based on medicines optimisation.

Mr McCoig said taking medicines was the "second most cost-effective thing you can do in healthcare" after smoking cessation	More from the C+D Business Senate Pharmacists need ‘drastic change in mentality' as       dispensing takes a back seat See how the Senate unfolded Is Boots leading the way in business?
	Taking medicines was the "second most cost-effective thing you can do in healthcare", after smoking cessation, said C+D Senator Mr McCoig, secretary of the Croydon and Sutton, Merton and Wandsworth LPCs.

Some of the medicines optimisation work pharmacists were already doing was "spectacularly successful", he said, highlighting domiciliary medicine check schemes in Croydon and Wandsworth.

"One hundred and sixty-odd visits have saved nearly half a million pounds in NHS costs in secondary care," he revealed.

Ms Sharpe agreed: "I believe that the future for community pharmacy must be firmly rooted in the effective use of medicines.

"That is where pharmacists' expertise lie and we have made some real progress in gaining credibility for pharmacy's work in improving medicines optimisation through MURs and NMS," she told C+D. "There is massive scope to build further on the progress that has been made."

Mr McCoig and Ms Sharpe's comments came after a PCT-wide study of medicines adherence in Birmingham recommended the enhancement of pharmacists' role.