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Time to embrace change

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Time to embrace change

The end of a year is an apposite time to take stock and consider the year ahead. It might be worth spending a little longer on these thoughts this year because you will need to engage with the changes on the horizon if you want your business to remain profitable and successful.

Independent contractor Mukesh Lad (page 11) is ahead of the game, having identified key issues in an annual review and how he can engage with them rather than let them beat him. With a general election looming, the IPF’s Claire Ward (page 16) suggests pharmacists take a more active role in political lobbying if they want to avoid change simply being done to them.

The £30bn hole in NHS finances cannot be ignored and the NHS Five Year Forward View suggests a shift away from treatment and towards prevention as a palatable money-saving and survival strategy. Former pharmacy minister Lord Hunt reminded the Self Care Forum that his government’s NHS Plan suggested self care as the way forward back in 2000. But self care is back in fashion again, with Earl Howe praising North-East London’s work in this area. And why wouldn’t he? Better health outcomes at less cost – surely it’s a no-brainer. And all with little political effort because those on the ground are sorting these things out for themselves.

But new models of care are required to ensure that the pharmacists in a position to deliver such great money-saving schemes as self care and medicines optimisation are empowered to do so and that their outputs are integrated into the wider NHS. Deputy chief pharmacist Dr Bruce Warner suggested a “menu” of such models to choose from (page 4). Choice here is likely to be at the commissioner level, though. Passive pharmacies will in reality have little choice.

Dr Warner also wants two pharmacists in every pharmacy. What would that mean for your business? An excess of pharmacists now makes this a likely proposition and probably good news for business owners (although not so good for employees).

In another sign that attitudes across the NHS are changing, Dr John Chisholm, member of the BMA council, told journalists at the Self Care Forum meeting that one of the biggest obstacles to closer working between GPs and pharmacists was records sharing. He said that the professions should have two-way access to patient records.

Steve Bremer, Editor

 

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