Pharmacy First (1107410) - Improvement action plan

The pharmacy does not effectively audit or review the prescribing service or adherence to prescribing policies, to make sure the service is safe.

As mentioned in our previous correspondence we are pleased you are happy with our previous audit template, and now look to expand the products audited. We have already started a new audit on antimicrobials and eczema cream. We will increase the sample size taken. We will also diarise future audits to ensure that we continue to perform them with regularity. Ensuring conformity to Nice guidelines and safety for our patients.

The pharmacy sells medicines via its website. But it does not always provide enough information for people to be able to make sure the medicines they choose are safe and appropriate for them. And people using the pharmacy's services cannot easily contact the pharmacist for information and advice. The pharmacy is not able to demonstrate that sufficient safeguards are in place to make sure the medicines it supplies are clinically appropriate. This includes: verifying the information provided by the person completing the online questionnaire, confirming a diagnosis of an existing medical condition, sharing all relevant information with the patient's regular doctor and ensuring effective monitoring is in place. And the online questionnaires are set up so people can circumvent the system and change their responses in order to obtain a supply of medicine which may not be appropriate. This is of particular concern when supplying antimicrobials, and medicines for chronic conditions such as asthma and weight loss which require monitoring.

We are currently investing a substantial amount of funds to developing our website. This should enable us to increase functionality within the back end of the site.
We are currently working with the
developer to enhance the questionnaire so that it can work within the parameters that you have requested to be implemented.
This will include a Implementing Live Chat and more communication tools to improve contact with the pharmacist. More prominent display of prescriber and Superintendent details and phone number.

We are also working through the
database of medicines with the intention to increase the amount of detail in the description of individual products including more safeguards to ensure that the medicines are appropriate clinically.

We write and share information to all
GPs when given consent to do so. The
patient must give us that consent for
us to share any of their private
medical information. However in the case of Asthma all new orders will require the patients consent to contact their GP AND ALSO either access their SCR records or provide some other form of evidence that they require this
medicine. e.g. a copy of their Repeat
Medicines Sheet.

Going forward all Antimicrobial
dispensed medicines will be restricted
to a single treatment and if infection
has not cleared the patient will be
signposted appropriately.

We have decided to suspend all new
Weight Loss Orders until we fully
research and develop a Video Consultation solution to enable the
pharmacist to have a more meaningful
consultation with the patient and
ensure any medication is appropriate.