PSNC presents its vision for community pharmacy
Practice Advanced services and the management of long-term conditions top the list as priorities for PSNC in its newly published vision for community pharmacist
PSNC has set out its vision for community pharmacy in 2016, naming wider use of advanced services and the management of long-term conditions as priorities for the future.
Pharmacy could reduce the burden on secondary care by providing greater support to particular patient groups, PSNC said in its vision document, published yesterday (August 12). However, it warned that the NHS was reluctant to release extra funding in the current economic climate and stressed that pharmacy would need a "strong business case" to secure the proposed national services.
Source: PSNC,The vision for NHS Community Pharmacies, published August 12, 2016
PSNC recommended extending the use of MURs and the NMS to better target certain conditions and taking on GPs' disease management work in areas such as COPD, Parkinson's and type 2 diabetes. It also voiced support for a national pharmacy minor ailments service to reduce the burden on GPs and A&E.
|
PSNC did not provide details about how its vision would be funded. However, it said it intended to promote it within the NHS to give other healthcare professionals and commissioners an idea on how pharmacy services could be developed in a "manageable and sustainable way". It also planned to use the vision as a "tool" to aid ongoing discussions and negotiations with the government on service development. PSNC warned that negotiations on new services would also be influenced by factors outside its control, such as tight constraints on government spending and the priorities of new commissioners. PSNC head of NHS services Alastair Buxton said the vision did not aim to set out any "spectacularly new" principles, but to explain how its long-term goals could work in practice. |
|
The main recommendationsMURs and NMS PSNC suggested MURs and the NMS could be used more widely. Pharmacists could offer all patients with asthma or COPD an annual MUR, for example, and conduct an NMS intervention when any new medicine was added. PSNC also stressed that MURs should be conducted more frequently where necessary to ensure "longitudinal care over the course of the year". Reducing the burden on GPs and secondary care The negotiating body said pharmacists could help reduce the burden on GPs and secondary care if funded to provide more services. It named disease management work in areas such as COPD, Parkinson's and type 2 diabetes as key areas to focus on. This could involve conducting the annual reviews for asthma patients usually performed by practice nurses, it suggested. National minor ailments scheme PSNC voiced support for a national pharmacy minor ailments service supported by a "sustained information campaign", which could also help reduce the burden on GPs and A&E. |
"PSNC is excited to launch this vision narrative because we hope that, for the first time, it will give community pharmacy teams a clear idea of how services could develop over the next few years in their pharmacies," he said.
PSNC reiterated that negotiations for the next funding package, due to be announced in autumn, were proving "tough" because of the "immense financial pressures" on the NHS.
"The committee is considering factors such as how funding can be distributed to reward quality and how community pharmacy can meet the 4 per cent efficiency targets being set by the treasury," it said. "Both of these may lead to changes in the way pharmacy services are delivered and rewarded in future, but it is too early yet to speculate what any changes may be."
PSNC first set out its vision last year, and said the vast majority of contractors agreed with its objectives to boost the sector's role in medicines optimisation, long-term conditions and tailored care at the time.
|
What's your opinion of PSNC's vision for community pharmacy? Comment below or email us at [email protected] You can also find C+D on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook |
