Prescription for Excellence - the future of pharmaceutical care: vision and plan

Appendix 3 The Right Medicine - Celebrating Our Achievements

The Right Medicine provided much needed impetus for change and modernisation of pharmaceutical care in Scotland and set the direction to introduce the new Scottish community pharmacy contract. It also firmly positioned pharmacists as real partners in the planning and delivery of healthcare in both hospital and community settings and for the long term modernisation of the services they provide.

Since its publication in 2002, much has been achieved in delivering the goals and policy intentions of The Right Medicine, including the following.

• The development and implementation of the new pharmaceutical care service elements of the community pharmacy contract arrangements -the Minor Ailment Service (MAS), Acute Medication Service (AMS), Public Health Service (PHS) and Chronic Medication Service (CMS)
• Improved access to NHS Pharmaceutical Services in areas of acute deprivation, rural communities and more generally.
• Use of pharmacy as the first port of call for NHS services for the treatment of common illnesses through the MAS, introduced in July 2006.
• Establishment of the Scottish Centre for Adverse Drug Reactions Reporting and the Medicines Utilisation Unit.
• Development of a Significant Event Analysis system.
• The Scottish Medicines Consortium was commissioned to provide guidance on antibiotic prescribing, followed with funding to enable the recruitment of antimicrobial pharmacists within each NHS Board.
• Supplementary prescribing rights for pharmacists were introduced in 2002 while independent prescribing rights were introduced in 2006.
• Introduction of the NHS Pre-registration Pharmacist Scheme (PRPS).
• A focus on modernising and improving community pharmacy premises. Infrastructure funding has been provided to community pharmacies since 2006 and every premises now displays the NHS Scotland logo clearly recognising community pharmacies as part of the NHS family.
• A national Patient Group Direction (PGD) issued in 2005 allows community pharmacists to supply repeat medicines out-of-hours.
• Pilot of Pharmore+ Pharmacy Walk-in Services Programme in 5 NHS Boards.
• Establishment and operation of Joint Local Formularies by NHS Boards working with local clinicians in both hospitals and in primary care.
• Establishment of prescribing workstream of the NHS Scotland Efficiency & Productivity Programme in 2010 to address more cost effective prescribing.
• Developments with the Hospital Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration system (HEPMA) to support medicines efficiency and safety.
• Updated guidance on joint working with the Pharmaceutical Industry - A Common Understanding -issued in 2012.