Responsible Pharmacist

[kemzero]

Your thoughts please....
good idea or bad idea ?

Although I think its a good idea, I am not too happy with the length of time a pharmacist can be absent from his/her base....50% is way too much this should be reduced to 20-25%, otherwise patient safety will definitely be compromised
In the last couple of years so many POMs have been derrugulated and are now available over the counter, therefore there are higher risks... I guess a responsible pharmacist would need to have a water-tight insurance package , because claims would definitely soar
Imagine a patient on methotrexate buying ibuprofen OTC or a patient on ACE inhibitors and the like buying cystemme etc..the list is endless....

I feel 20-25% would be a more reasonable time to be absent from a dispensary

[johnep]

Re: Responsible Pharmacist

I am sure I have seen repeat scripts for methotrexate and NSAIds.
If a pt with BP comes in for something for cystitis and wants to buy a citrate, then cystopurin is the potassium salt. Is the problem with ace inhibitors only with sodium?, if so then all the pts on soluble analgesics should be reviewed.
johnep

[kemzero]

Re: Responsible Pharmacist

if so then all the pts on soluble analgesics should be reviewed.
johnep[/QUOTE]


Certainly ....and I always intervene appropriately

8 soluble tablets of (co-codamol or paracetamol) preps contain 8mmols of salt, more than the daily recommended amt proposed by the Department of Health (6mmols) .....
..not factoring in food...

[u2bawooly]

Re: Responsible Pharmacist

Not being funny,but why are you even considering this proposal? The reason that we get paid x at the minute is because we can get sued 100%. You could be the worlds greatest pharmacist and without responsibilty you will be paid ferk all.I can only assume you have been smoking crack if you want to encourage the Doh to allow the pharmacist to leave. We can leave at present without penalty, but at your own risk if some daft tech hands out meds whilst you're out.That is fine though because we have the power to decide-DON'T GIVE ANY OF THAT AWAY.Remote supervision cuts the demand for pharmacist by a factor of the number of pharmacies controlled by the pharmacists which is outrageous, yet you and other flippant pharmacists discuss it???? The whole point of the Health Bill is to take up so much reading time (103 pages) that we simply can't comprehend it in the necessary time. This allows several changes to go unnopposed. Oppose them all. Look out for pharmacists only

[Pharmanaut]

Re: Responsible Pharmacist

Not being funny,but why are you even considering this proposal? The reason that we get paid x at the minute is because we can get sued 100%. You could be the worlds greatest pharmacist and without responsibilty you will be paid ferk all.I can only assume you have been smoking crack if you want to encourage the Doh to allow the pharmacist to leave. We can leave at present without penalty, but at your own risk if some daft tech hands out meds whilst you're out.That is fine though because we have the power to decide-DON'T GIVE ANY OF THAT AWAY.Remote supervision cuts the demand for pharmacist by a factor of the number of pharmacies controlled by the pharmacists which is outrageous, yet you and other flippant pharmacists discuss it???? The whole point of the Health Bill is to take up so much reading time (103 pages) that we simply can't comprehend it in the necessary time. This allows several changes to go unnopposed. Oppose them all. Look out for pharmacists only

Spot on - my feeling is that this is the start of re-skilling of the profession. Some would call it modernisation. As well as that it is a danger to the public at large. If you argue that all the clinical safety will be built into IT systems - please think again.

[johnep]

Re: Responsible Pharmacist

Suspect will be as relible and confidential as the details of junior Drs.
johnep

[kemzero]

Re: Responsible Pharmacist

crack ....thats a bit much !

As a pharmacist I have to admit that initially I wasn't prepared to embrace remote supervision , but I have pondered upon it for over 18 months now and I feel that change is inevitable if we are to progress as a profession.

Pharmacists need to get involved in advance and enhanced services and we can't do these if we are tied to a dispensing bench.

Any pharmacist worth their salt will not be prepared to delegate tasks that are beyond the competences of some support staff; so as the title suggests a responsible pharmacist would always act in the best interests of patients and
HIS/HER career.

Prescriptions for dressings,ACBS products, appliances some topicals can be dispensed in the absence of a pharmacist....if theses items are dispensed by a disp assistant , ACTs should be able to check them off.

The only contention I have at the moment is the fact that the NVQ level 3 qualification is sub-standard to a BTech in pharmaceutical sciences

[u2bawooly]

Re: Responsible Pharmacist

Fairdoos for tryin to be diplomatic, but you are worryingly insane. It is a fact that a MONKEY can check that one thing matches to another.That isnt an issue. It is the responsibility that pays us cash. If you want to free up time for services, tell patients to call back later and concentrate on services. Hire more staff to dispense.
As we KNOW, patients do not give a stuff about advanced services, not least MURs, and these will be scrapped one by one as the government gets more research that shows (wait for it) that they are a waste of time. We play into their hands by going along with the misconception that we should become more clinical. Go and work in hospital if you want to be clinical. The DoH/government is only interested in consistently cutting funding. The reason it picks on community pharmacy is because it knows we work alone, we dont collude and put ideas forward, and naive people like yourself can't comprehend the covert big picture, trip on the word CLINICAL and stumble into unemployment. Since when were pharmacists TRAINED to take warfarin levels/lung function/cholesterol levels??????

[Pharmanaut]

Re: Responsible Pharmacist

A fair reply.
In some ways you are right - we are a genteel "old fashioned" bunch of people who believe in fair play. The one ace that we have up our sleeve as registered pharmacists is "Patient Safety And Accountability" and that's the flag we need to rally round and defend. It is a simple concept and the public will understand and support it. Which general will organise the rag-tag army of individuals?

[kemzero]

Re: Responsible Pharmacist

u2bawooly


You're way too harsh and more caustic than caustic soda itself ....insane naive pleasssssssssssssse lets face it there are a load of things we currently do as p'cists which could be delegated to appropriately trained staff.

I don't believe in a pharmacist being responsible for more than one shop, but I feel that well trained ( and the emphasis is on well trained ) techs/super dispensers should be able to hold the fort for a couple of hours if strict protocols which the pharmacist is comfortable with are in place

For crying out loud you don't need a p'cist to dispense straight foward scripts such as polytar oilatum etc

[u2bawooly]

Re: Responsible Pharmacist

Look here kemzero, my salary is dependant on my responsibility. Less responsibility = less salary so i'm in no rush to give that away. I could argue with some reason but debate is simply not appropriate given the time for response. Please bear in mind that if a PHARMACIST had suggested this notion for discussion in th PJ (for example) then fine, lets debate. But the problem is that the Doh is only interested in cutting costs, remote supervision is such an easy way. Demand will be cut and supply will increase massively by august 2009 (When the new students appear). Have you noticed that the Director of Pharmacy from LLOYDS has been appointed to the Lord Darzi NHS review. Multiples profits and share prices will hit the roof if this goes through. Oppose now at all costs and then lets (pharmacists) discuss at a later date.

[johnep]

Re: Responsible Pharmacist

This is the problem we have in that the govnmt finds it convenient to talk with pharmacists in large multiples and fondly imagine that they speak for the ordinary pharmacist. Hopefully, the PDA will fulfil this function and have a seat at 'high tables' in future.
johnep