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Pharmacy First – how’s it going? We caught up with Community Pharmacy Nottinghamshire board member and Business Development Manager & Trainee Pharmacist Supervisor for Peak Pharmacy, Linda Ferguson, to find out how Pharmacy First is going for Linda and her colleagues. Thanks so much for the valuable feedback Linda, some great insights! • How many Pharmacy First consultations have you carried out since 31st January? Each Peak Pharmacy – reached or exceed the target to achieve the £1k per month.   • What are the most common of the 7 common conditions you’re seeing and treating? Sore throat then UTI.   • What is the split between self-referrals/walk-ins and GP referrals? Predominantly self-referral but we are also seeing referrals from GP practices as well as practices sign-posting patients to community pharmacy.   • What has been the response to the Pharmacy First service amongst your customers and the wider local community? We've had lots of positivity from customers and local GPs where the understanding is good (some GPs still not quite there but that will change over time.) • What are you doing to promote Pharmacy First in your pharmacy? In-pharmacy posters, Rx bag leaflets, website and posts on Facebook etc. LINDA'S TOP TIPS ✅ Remember it is a whole team approach, including locums. ✅ Train the whole team and counter team to spot possible patients. ✅ Train pharmacists to follow each of the seven clinical pathways and understand PharmOutcomes. #pharmacyfirst #communitypharmacy #pharmacist #toptips

Just two more weeks left to enter or nominate someone for a Pharmacy Practice Business Award! There’s nothing like that feeling of being acknowledged and recognized for the hard work you do each day to bring your practice to excellence. While pharmacists are notoriously self-effacing, there is great value in sharing exceptional stories—every good news pharmacy story helps to raise up the profession, and every excellent example of patient care or practice innovation informs and inspires others in their own careers. The Pharmacy Practice  Business Awards recognize Canadian pharmacists providing exceptional patient care and demonstrating creativity and innovation in pharmacy practice. If you’ve been working hard to set yourself and/or your pharmacy apart from the crowd, why not take a little time to tell us about it and become eligible for recognition in our prestigious annual awards program? Below is a list of this year’s entry categories: Practice Innovation Award Business Innovation Award Public Protector Award Technician Initiative Award Raise Your Voice Award Rising Star Award For details and to enter: https://lnkd.in/gJ_Tcuts

This is a good example why pharmacies in Estonia should not rely on government funding for services. It can only be an ancilliary task. It is just non-reliable. The solution is the never-ending theme about mark-ups. When we get drug mark-ups to the AVG of 20%, this should suffice for a while. At the moment I am not that sure whether the state understands what she has already done. Basically the need to sell other products creates a job for non-medical personnel, yeah. The pharmacist is allowed to handle foodstuffs, this is derived from the situation when she can handle drugs; the same is true for medical devices compensated by the state - pharmacist can sell them, because pharmacist can sell also drugs, no need for special training up to now (although, it would be of use, sure). But, the non-medical personnel have none of these rights, actually. This is all just a workaround. And depriving POSs of income creates an empty space that has been filled with such untrained non-medical personnel exactly. 2 things should be done asap: a) raise mark-ups on drugs. b) organize training for handling of foodstuffs and compensated medical devices (orthosis and such) for the non-medical personnel (and actually also for pharmacists it would not hurt) The whole idea of increasing efficiency - the state is doing it herself. The only way to raise salaries in public institutions is to sack someone and say that we have "increased efficiency" and have one FTE-s worth of salary to share between us (reminds me a bit one case about ethics Michael Sandel discussed about an old British court case when after shipwreck a sailor was eaten on a boat so others could survive and the Kant-ish approach was taken by British court that it was absolutely wrong; in EE I think we have this utilitarian approach where ends justify the means ;) ). Let´s not eat the poor colleague.

The introduction of pharmacists as the first point of contact in healthcare is an admirable initiative, aimed at improving patient care. However, the implementation of this program seems rushed, especially considering the ongoing struggles faced by pharmacists and their teams. Thus, it is important to reconsider and rewrite the plan to ensure a smoother transition and effective support for all parties involved.

It’s been quite a while coming but it looks like - finally - pharmacists are on the way to performing the wider primary care role they have wanted for so long, through the newly launched Pharmacy First scheme. Let’s hope they get the necessary support that will see it succeed, as everyone stands to benefit. #healthcare #consumerhealth #pharmacyfirst #pharmacy #nhsengland #primaryhealthcare #earlyintervention #training Pharmacy Magazine https://lnkd.in/emryfC3a

Australian Journal of Pharmacy readers have nominated their #PharmacyHeroes, and we’ve chosen 10 who represent the range scope, and reality of pharmacy in 2023

This is the sad, but expected result of the PBM-Chain drug store cartel. They joined forces to impose unsustainable reimbursements & drive independent pharmacies out of business. When it's no longer profitable? They simply walk away from the mess they created. Unfortunately, there are few indies remaining & even fewer pharmacists willing to endure the financial risk of opening their own practice, causing those who need care the most to suffer. In the 70s-90s, when the State administered the Medicaid prescription drug benefit? Independent pharmacies flourished because of fair reimbursement rates, service based competition, & unfettered access to patients (there is no mail order in State administered Fee For Service). In the late 90's, when private insurers took over, it was the beginning of the end. And the end is has finally arrived. There is a solution; Return the Medicaid drug benefit back to State control. Pharmacy is a business & businesses need incentives. If a pharmacist can own a practice where the threat of predatory PBM-Chain Cartel tactics are minimized? Hopefully we see a return to a time (not so long ago) where every neighborhood had their own pharmacy/pharmacies. In New Jersey, #independentpharmacy is working toward this goal. SaveNJRx was created to promote a return to a time when owning a pharmacy in underserved urban/rural communities was not just personally rewarding, it was financially attractive. Eliminating PBMs & investing the savings in local small business (vs. lining PBM's pockets) is a great first start. To all my New Jersey #pharmacists colleagues? PLEASE support SaveNJRx so we can end this failed PBM experiment! #pharmacists #communitypharmacy #independentpharmacy Independent Pharmacy Alliance Garden State Pharmacy Owners National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) American Pharmacists Association American College of Apothecaries New Jersey Pharmacists Association Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association Philadelphia Media Network: Philly.com, Inquirer and Daily News SaveNJRx WHYY PBS CNN Rickie Keys, PhD, MPH https://lnkd.in/eAqSZ5s7

This report has a fitting title: Under Stress and Duress

Important to practice at the top of your license.