Clinical Pharmacist in Birmingham

Improve patients' health outcomes and efficiency of the practice team by providing direct, accessible, and timely medicines expertise, including identifying areas for improvement and initiating change. The primary contact within the practice for queries relating to medicines management, around individual patient care. Focus on individual patient care by addressing immediate and future needs to personalise care planning. Proactively transfer, from other clinical staff, workload relating to medicines optimisation to improve patient care and safety. Demonstrate the effectiveness of the practice and the role through audit and data analysis. Follow up patients and investigations, particularly blood tests.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work within their clinical competencies as part of a multi-disciplinary team to provide expertise in clinical medicines management, provide face-to-face and telephone call structured medication reviews, manage long-term conditions, management of medicines on transfer of care and systems for safer prescribing, while addressing both the public health and social care needs of patients in the GP practice. The post holder will perform medication review of patients with polypharmacy especially for older people, people in residential care homes and those with multiple co-morbidities. The post holder will support clinical audit as well as managing some aspects of the Quality and Outcomes Framework. This role is pivotal to improving the quality of care and operational efficiencies so requires motivation and passion to deliver an excellent service within general practice.

Job responsibilities

• Focused and structured reviews of repeat prescriptions on an individual basis to improve quality and safety and maximise effectiveness and reduce wastage.
• Medication review services via clinics in the practice, domiciliary visits and in residential and nursing homes.
• Undertake disease-focused medication reviews and telephone advice to patients with long-term conditions on specific medicines management issues.
• Ensure the care for patients taking high-risk drugs e.g. DMARDs, anticoagulation, are safe and appropriate.
• Manage vulnerable housebound patients at risk of hospital admission and harm from poor use of medicines.
• Provide support and advice to patients with medication-related questions, queries, or concerns.
• Reconcile medicines following discharge from hospitals, intermediate care and into care homes outpatient clinic letters.
• Manage practice formularies and IT systems to ensure appropriate selection of medication is easy and maximised by prescribers in the practice.
• Ensure appropriate governance is in place regarding medicines, including leading on the response to any drug safety alerts or changes in clinical guidance.
• Plan and undertake clinical/prescribing audits to identify areas where improvement is needed, develop action plans and implement appropriate changes.

Person Specification

• Qualifications: Mandatory registration with General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), Masters degree in pharmacy (MPharm) (or equivalent), CPPE Primary Care Pharmacy Education Pathway, Independent prescribing qualification.
• Experience: In-depth therapeutic and clinical knowledge and understanding of the principles of evidence-based healthcare, an appreciation of the nature of GPs and general practices, management of patients with long-term conditions.
• Skills and Knowledge: Excellent written and verbal communication skills, excellent interpersonal, influencing and negotiating skills, ability to problem solve and meet deadlines whilst working under pressure.