SW Pharma (9012700) - Improvement action plan

The pharmacy works with and dispenses prescriptions from a third-party provider which offers a prescribing service. The pharmacy has not assured itself that this third-party service has additional safeguards in place, such as independently verifying information people provide. The pharmacy conducts its own consultations for the prescriptions it receives from the third party to verify weight. But it cannot adequately demonstrate that it independently verifies all the required information, such as height and medical history. Furthermore, on the pharmacy’s website, the questionnaires used to collect people’s information before making a prescribing decision inform individuals if they have entered information that makes them ineligible for treatment. And the pharmacy could not show that it could track when answers were changed. So, this could increase the risk that people are prescribed medicines which are not appropriate for them.

1. We have discussed with the third party prescribing service, who have confirmed that they will have access to the Summary Care Record. Implementation of SCR access will commence in the coming weeks once the relevant systems are in place.

2. Patient height will be verified. When a patient registers with the pharmacy, an automated request is sent to their GP practice to obtain their recorded height. This information is entered into the PMR. Patient weight is verified via video consultation. This process allows BMI to be accurately calculated and verified before any supply is made.

3. We will introduce additional system functionality to monitor changes to BMI data. Clinicians will be able to view a BMI log history when reviewing a submitted questionnaire, showing if answers are changed by patients when completing the questionnaire. We will also update the questionnaires so patients are not informed of ineligibility while completing them. Eligibility outcomes will only be communicated after a doctor has reviewed the completed questionnaire.