Medicine shortages are the biggest cause of prescription interventions by pharmacy teams, a Pharmacy Voice audit has revealed.

The audit of almost 5,200 pharmacies - conducted in two-week long periods last autumn - found that one in five interventions made to patients' prescriptions were a result of supply problems, Pharmacy Voice said on Wednesday (July 8). 

Seventy per cent of the 113,000 interventions recorded resulted in either the prescriber or GP practice staff being contacted, Pharmacy Voice said. Twenty per cent resulted in the patient being consulted, while the remaining 10 per cent were resolved by the pharmacy team using their professional judgement, it said.

Pharmacy Voice stressed that its audit showed that medicine shortages were still a “widespread issue”, and it would "continue to work closely" with the Department of Health's medicines supply chain forum to find a "rapid resolution".

Unsigned prescriptions accounted for a further 18 per cent of interventions, which Pharmacy Voice attributed to GPs signing repeat prescriptions "in bulk". It suggested that GPs worked with their teams to ensure "additional safety checks" were carried out to reduce these errors.

Patient questions about the form of their medication prompted nearly 8 per cent of interventions, while queries about medication quantities and brands resulted in just under 7 per cent each, it said.

The audit - which involved both multiples and independents - suggested that an average of seven interventions were delivered for every 1,000 items dispensed, Pharmacy Voice added.

Preventing harm

Pharmacists recorded the potential level of harm avoided for just over half of the interventions conducted, said Pharmacy Voice. From this data, it "cautiously concluded" that 5-10 per cent of the daily interventions made by pharmacists prevented "moderate or severe" patient harm.

Chief executive Rob Darracott said managing these interventions put “considerable pressure” on all members of the primary care team.

“It is essential that steps are taken to reduce the need for interventions, and we believe that tackling this will improve safety as well as efficiency,” he added.

Download the full audit report here.
 

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