Targeted MURs to improve use of medication

Pharmacy type

Community

Pharmacy context

A pharmacy located in the city centre, mainly serving office workers and tourists. The pharmacy dispenses up to 2,600 items per month and, as well as the NHS Essential Service, provides medicine use reviews (MURs), new medicine service (NMS), flu vaccines (private and NHS), hair retention (via PGD), travel vaccines and malaria prophylaxis, stop smoking services and repeat prescription ordering.

Relevant standards

• 4.2 - Pharmacy services are managed and delivered safely and effectively

Why this is notable practice

The pharmacy identified that patients with respiratory conditions often used their inhalers incorrectly and provided targeted advice to all patients that had not had a recent review with their GP.

How the pharmacy did this

The pharmacy promoted the benefits of medicine use reviews (MUR’s) to patients. A hand held low range inspiratory flow measurement device was used with patients prescribed inhalers and many were found to have a poor technique. Staff were briefed to highlight patients taking inhalers who had not had a review with their GP within the last 6 months; these patients were offered a referral via summary care records (SCRs) with the patient’s consent. Pharmacists kept a record of when they had accessed SCRs and the reason why. The pharmacist had checked the SCR for a patient requesting an emergency supply of Ventolin inhaler and had found that he had not been prescribed the device for 3 years. She had contacted his prescriber before making a supply as he had been out of breath.

What difference this made to patients

Patients with respiratory problems were provided with targeted advice in the correct use of inhalers. As a result these patients were now receiving the correct dosage of their medication, when this might not have been the case previously.