Health and care services

A Vision for the Future of Pharmacy Practice

Damhnait Gaughan, Acting Registrar of the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland, discusses the potential for pharmacists’ contribution to Ireland’s health service delivery into the future.

As the regulatory body for pharmacists and pharmacies in Ireland, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (PSI) regulates approximately 5,600 pharmacists, 390 pharmaceutical assistants and 1,880 pharmacies in Ireland. The PSI works in the public interest to protect and promote the health, safety and well-being of patients and the public.

“Under legislation we have a duty to take suitable action to improve the profession of pharmacy, and it is with this in mind that the PSI Council commissioned the ‘Future Pharmacy Practice Project’ in July 2015,” says Gaughan.

This project builds upon previous work undertaken by the PSI in 2008 (Pharmacy Ireland 2020 Report), which reviewed pharmacy services provided in Ireland and compared them with best practice internationally. Some of the recommendations from that report have already been realised, including pharmacists vaccinating against seasonal influenza and medicines reclassification through the availability of emergency hormonal contraception without a prescription from pharmacies.

The practice of pharmacy, like many professions, has developed extensively over time in the face of evolving customer and economic needs, and in response to progressions and changes in technology, regulation, and medicines. “We are encouraged by the success of new services being provided by pharmacists. Pharmacy is a profession that has and will continue to evolve as pharmacists respond to the changing healthcare environment and to public healthcare need. The Future Pharmacy Practice project hopes to expand on this and provide a guide to the potential of pharmacists and pharmacy in the context of national health strategy into the future.”

The project is about considering how pharmacists can innovate and meet patients’ needs, and identify additional services that could be provided from a pharmacy.

The work is overseen by a Project Steering Group which benefits from the expertise of representatives from the Department of Health, Health Service Executive, academia, industry, hospital and community pharmacists, patients and health care professionals, and was undertaken in the context of the significant challenges facing Irish healthcare. These challenges, which are evidenced by statistics, include an ageing and changing population1, the changing needs of patients who require more support in their homes in the future, poor adherence to medicines2, the significant growth in the incidence of chronic illnesses3, new healthcare technologies, the development of more sophisticated and more individualised medicines, as well as the cost burden of providing a good standard of healthcare to all in the future.

“We are delighted that Dr Norman Morrow agreed to Chair the Project Steering Group and bring to the role his significant experience and expertise as the former Chief Pharmaceutical Officer at the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland. As Dr. Morrow said at the first meeting of the Steering Group last August, ‘If we put patients and the public at the centre of our thinking, we will not go far wrong’,” said Gaughan.

The overarching goal of the project is to create a national vision for pharmacy that focuses on patient benefit and the value of making best use of pharmacists’ education and expertise to support the greater health service. The project has involved both national and international research in order to identify current best practice around the world including the UK, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the US.

As part of the work undertaken, pharmacists were also invited to submit examples of their innovative work as well as their thoughts on future pharmacy practice. “There is a great breadth of practice innovations already happening in both community and hospital settings that we need to harness and build on in order to ensure that services provided by pharmacists are meeting the needs of patients in the most cost-effective way as part of a national healthcare strategy,” Gaughan explained. These submissions captured the pioneering work that many pharmacists were undertaking as part of their day to day pharmacy service and patient care activities, and aided in informing the project about what is possible even in difficult financial times.

The project also sought the opinion and expertise of many within and outside of pharmacy, which involved meeting with a variety of organisations, including the Department of Health, HSE, other regulatory bodies, Schools of Pharmacy and representative bodies of healthcare professionals. A vital element of the research consisted of holding a number of focus groups, where patients, hospital and community pharmacists, pharmacy students and other healthcare professionals were invited to contribute and give their views on what they think pharmacy practice should look like in Ireland in the future and how future pharmacy practice can enhance the health and wellbeing of the Irish population.

Gaughan also outlined how engagement to date has helped identify how patients envisage pharmacists could best use their skills in the future, and also identify where policy-makers feel pharmacists could contribute more valuably to the wider healthcare system in order to ensure the needs of patients are being met in the most cost-effective way.

“The Future Pharmacy Practice Report will present evidence to policy–makers to inform the development of contemporary pharmacy practice to meet the health care needs of the population.”

A key enabler to any innovations that may evolve from the Future Pharmacy Project is pharmacist education and training. The PSI has overseen many key changes in that area over the past eight years. September 2015 saw the commencement of an integrated five year course, a Masters in pharmacy, instead of the former four year academic plus one year internship programme. This is a cornerstone in the development of the profession, and this revised programme of education and practical training will enable future pharmacists to meet new service demands. With the drive to have students receive immersion in the three main pharmacy practice settings throughout their university years, it will enhance students’ experiences, career opportunities and adaptability into the future.

The recent introduction of mandatory continuing professional development (CPD) for pharmacists through the Irish Institute of Pharmacy (IIOP) also underpins a future of pharmacy that can be relied on, that demonstrates to the public that pharmacists are keeping up with advances in their field. It is anticipated that any training that will be required by pharmacists to upskill for the delivery of recommendations arising out of the Future Pharmacy Practice Project will be supported by the IIOP and the PSI.

All of the developments in future pharmacy practice will valuably contribute to the health and wellbeing of patients in Irish healthcare. “We hope that the findings and recommendations of the Future Pharmacy Practice Project will help outline a real vision for the future direction of pharmacy in Ireland, which will valuably contribute to the health and wellbeing of patients in Irish healthcare.”

The Future Pharmacy Practice Report will be launched this summer. Further information on the project is available on the PSI website.

Ms Damhnait Gaughan

Acting Registrar of the PSI

Web: www.psi.ie

 

References

  1. Kirke C. Improving Medication Safety. National Medication Safety Summit. Towards a National Approach. 2015
  2. Pirmohamad M, James S, Meakin S, Green C, Scott AK, Walley TJ, Farrar K, Park BK, Breckenridge AM. Adverse drug reactions as cause of admission to hospital; prospective analysis of 18 820 patients. BMJ 2004; 329:15-19
  3. 2008 Health Service Executive, Health Status of the Population of Ireland. 2008

 

 

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