Future Model of Pharmacy Practice – Principles and Supporting Statements

I am excited to share with you a new vision for the future of community pharmacy practice, developed by our team at Numark.  As a valued member of the Numark community, it’s important that you hear about this development directly from me before it’s shared more widely with the pharmacy trade press, Chief Pharmaceutical Officers, and the four negotiating bodies.

This vision is intended to spark debate and initiate conversations about the key elements needed to bring Numark’s future model of practice to life.  To facilitate this discussion, we've outlined twelve principles of practice, each supported by detailed statements.

In the coming months, our team will highlight these principles in a series of articles in our monthly magazine, while also aligning our community pharmacy propositions and services to make this vision a reality for you.

I look forward to working closely with you to grow our community pharmacy offering, and I would greatly appreciate any feedback you have on the principles which you will find below.

With every best wish for the future

Professor Harry McQuillan
Numark Chairman

Future Model of Pharmacy Practice – Principles and Supporting Statements

The future model of community pharmacy practice sets out an ambitious view of how the sector can deliver a range of clinical services, helping to improve the health of local populations, and becoming an integrated part of primary care.  To achieve this, all activity must be fairly funded, community pharmacies must be financially viable, and businesses must have the confidence to invest, in order to ensure ongoing delivery of safe, high-quality services. 

Core

• Community Pharmacy teams will improve population health and address increasing healthcare demand as part of an integrated wider health system.
  • Community pharmacy will be an essential part of the integrated primary care team, working closely with GP practices and other health professions, using a shared data platform, delivering an increasing range of clinical pharmacy services focused on early intervention and improving the health of the local population. 
• The community pharmacy network will continue to be critical to local communities.
  • Community pharmacy remains local to the communities they serve and plays a critical role through the provision of safe access to medicines, a wide range of services aimed at improving population health and timely access to healthcare advice.  People that use community pharmacy report of a positive experience of the services and advice they receive. The presence of a trained healthcare professional adds to the social capital of that community.
• Prescribing and supply can take place from the same community pharmacy premises.
  • By combining prescribing with supply within a community pharmacy, it will create a more efficient and seamless journey for the patient, helping to support improved health outcomes underpinned by pharmacy safety processes. 
• Pharmacy will utilise data to demonstrate need and value in the identification, development, delivery, and evaluation of services.
  • Population health data will be used to identify opportunities for service development, and service delivery data will help identify service improvement opportunities. 
  • All services will be evaluated to ensure patients are achieving outcomes people value and preventing harm, the NHS is receiving best value for taxpayers and medicines waste is reduced and contractors value delivering care. 
  • Community pharmacies will use a shared data platform, providing ready access to information that will enable improvements in service delivery and better outcomes for patients.
• The model can be flexible and adapted to meet the needs of each of the countries across the UK, recognising the differences, and that different elements will be implemented within varying timescales in each health system.
  • As commissioning priorities vary across each country the model will need to be adaptable and responsive to reflect this. Each health system will clearly see how the future model of pharmacy practice is relevant to their population health needs.

Services

• Pharmacists will fully utilise their clinical expertise, primarily prescribing, to improve the health of their patients.
  • Pharmacists will routinely and completely manage repeat prescribing and supply, supporting those living with long term conditions. They will also support patients with acute, common, and seasonal conditions, and other public health interventions facilitated by prescribing. 
  • Pharmacists will utilise their expertise and prescribe individualised tailored medicine solutions through developments in pharmacogenomics.
• Community Pharmacy teams will deliver increasing volumes of services.
  • Whilst medicines supply will remain core, as the funding envelopes grow, an increasing proportion of the funding will support the delivery of pharmacy services, ensuring good access to healthcare from a vital, local, community pharmacy network. As their role evolves Pharmacy Technicians will take a lead role in the supply and administration of vaccinations.
• Community Pharmacy will undertake a wider and more comprehensive role in preventative, urgent and acute care.
  • Community pharmacy will play a leading role in helping their local populations to stay well through the provision of services that prevent the onset of primary conditions and secondary complications. This includes opportunistic interventions, disease state monitoring, health checks, ill health prevention through services such as weight management, smoking cessation support and vaccinations. 
  • They will also support people in the treatment of common conditions ensuring quick access to clinically appropriate medicines. 
  • Access to all of these services will make an important contribution to reducing health inequalities by supporting a focus on prevention, early detection, early intervention and treatment.
• The public will have access to a consistent offer of NHS funded care across all pharmacies, reserving some local commissioning decisions for local patient needs.
  • A core set of services will be delivered by all community pharmacies, where this is a national need, delivering improved access, continuity and ensuring the population clearly understands what is available. 

Safety / Medicines

• Supply of medicines will remain a core role for community pharmacy and will be delegated and managed by dispensary colleagues focusing on accuracy. 
  • Pharmacy Technicians and support team members, with the integration of technology, will manage and oversee the operations of the dispensary ensuring the supply of medicines remains safe, accurate and efficient. 
• Pharmacists will be focused on medicines safety.
  • Pharmacists will ensure the safe use of medicines, including clinical appropriateness, supporting patients through medicines optimisation services, focussing on those with more complex needs and those taking high risk medicines. This will require pharmacists to be fully integrated into and working closely with the wider healthcare team.

Technology

• The adoption of technology will improve safety, efficiency and how future services are delivered to suit patient need.
  • New models of delivery through the use of technology, including automation and artificial intelligence, will support safe, appropriate and efficient supply.
  • Data and communications systems will enable shared patient care between all healthcare professionals.
  • Technology will enable pharmacies to interact with patients and the public in new and varying ways, supporting the population to access healthcare when they need it and in a way that they prefer helping to reduce health inequalities.