Pharmacy referral service to prevent readmissions

Patients who have recently been discharged from hospital will now receive greater support from local pharmacy teams to manage their medicines.

The Department of Health and Social Care has revealed that, from July, hospitals will be able to refer patients who would benefit from extra guidance around new prescribed medicines to their community pharmacy.

The NHS Discharge Medicines Service will help patients get the maximum benefits from new medicines they’ve been prescribed by giving them the opportunity to ask questions to pharmacists and ensuring any concerns are identified as early as possible.

Forming part of the Health Secretary’s ‘Pharmacy First’ approach to ease wider pressures on A&Es and General Practice, it means that patients will be digitally referred to their pharmacy after discharge from hospital.

79 per cent of patients were prescribed at least one new medication after being discharged from hospital. Recent research by the National Institute for Health Research shows that people over 65 are less likely to be readmitted to hospital if they’re given help with their medication after discharge.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “I want all patients to get the right care close to home, and to avoid any unnecessary visits to hospital. To help do that I’ve begun the Pharmacy First programme, asking pharmacies to do more to support people in the community, as they do in other countries like France. It’s good for patients and great for the NHS because it reduces pressure on GPs and hospitals.

“These new services will help strengthen what community pharmacists can do, helping interrelation with General Practice and hospitals, and help them deliver safer, more efficient patient care right across the NHS. This new contract bolsters the enhanced role highly-skilled pharmacists are playing in preventing ill health and helping us to stay well in our communities.”

The framework was agreed in July 2019 with NHS England and NHS Improvement and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC). It committed almost £13 billion to community pharmacy – £2.592 billion per year – to expand the role of community pharmacy, while continuing to support the introduction of new clinical services.