Studies show that physicians have to pay approximately $1 million to deal with the post-payment integrity audits. It is concerning, especially, when we are trying to minimize healthcare expenses.
Kelby Krabbenhoft, the president and CEO, has an aggressive strategy for the growth of the health care system, and in 2007 that vision aligned with a $400 million donation from philanthropist and businessman Denny Sanford.
Positive Solutions is set to launch its new, innovative, cloud-based medicines management system - HxCare which will be showcased in October at the Care Show.
HxCare will be free of charge to community pharmacies signing up to the HxCare Affiliate Programme (HxCAP) making it an ideal platform to support existing care home
business and attract new ones.
The cloud-based medicines management system aims to digitise workflows, reduce errors and free up care providers to spend more time delivering care to their residents.
Designed to be truly mobile, HxCare will be tablet based and has been developed by working closely with both care homes across the sector and their pharmacy partners
who relish the prospect of an eMAR solution that integrates into their Analyst PMR.
It is one of five new products being launched by Positive Solutions on the Hx platform this year.
HxConsult is already live supporting pharmacies looking to maximise their service revenue. HxIntel will deliver real-time dashboards, reports and insights into the
performance of pharmacy businesses of all sizes. My Health Hub will revolutionise patient pharmacy relationships whilst HxDispense is set to be the ultimate next
generation PMR system. This modular, cloud-based interoperable ecosystem takes healthcare technology to a new level.
National pharmacy bodies have called on the government and NHS leaders to take appropriate action to keep pharmacy teams safe from violence and abuse.
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) - in collaboration with the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMp), the Company Chemists'
Association (CCA), the National Pharmacy Association (NPA), and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) - is supporting an important petition started by Mike Hewitson,
a community pharmacy contractor, who has been threatened with stabbing and robbed in his own pharmacy.
The PSNC and the other national pharmacy bodies strongly believe that no healthcare professional should have to deal with this, that and pharmacists and their teams
should be better protected.
It said: "Community pharmacies play an integral role in the delivery of primary care and most patients are highly appreciative of the hard work of local pharmacists
and pharmacy teams from dispensing medicines and administering vaccines to providing medical advice and health monitoring services.
NHS England has commissioned the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) to develop guidance that helps community and hospital pharmacy teams across Britain to
reduce the impact of pharmacy services, pharmaceutical care and medicines on the environment.
The RPS said the Greener Pharmacy Guidance will enable pharmacies to self-assess their impact against the standards, benchmark and improve through evidence-based
activities and actions.
"I'm delighted our strong commitment to helping pharmacy reduce its environmental impact can now be taken to the next level through developing guidance and
accreditation for pharmacy teams," RPS president Professor Claire Anderson said.
"Medicines account for 25 per cent of carbon emissions within the NHS and this initiative underscores our commitment to promoting sustainable healthcare and
supporting the NHS's goal of achieving 'net zero' emissions by 2040."
Peter Morgan, medicines assistant director at NHS England, commented: "Pharmacy staff are involved in the purchasing and dispensing of almost every medicine used
in the NHS and the new Greener Pharmacy Guidance and Self-accreditation scheme will provide support for pharmacy professionals by outlining clear actions to deliver
more environmentally sustainable pharmacy practices."
The RPS said the guidance and digital self-assessment toolkit will integrate with carbon calculator tools to help pharmacy teams to measure their carbon footprint,
action plan to reduce use of carbon and improve sustainability.
The recent announcement that Royal Mail will be partnering with distance selling pharmacy (DSP) giant pharmacy2U highlights how standards of regulatory
enforcement are being ignored to accommodate the DSP model.
The brunt of these double standards hinges around the levelling down of temperature enforcement standards by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory
Agency (MHRA) which demands mapping must be audited from the point of dispensing to the patient.
The MHRA has a well recognised duty to ensure medicines reach patients in a safe condition. The current anomaly appears to turn a blind eye to this step in the
supply chain at the point the wholesaler releases goods to the pharmacy hub.
Equally the training on delivering medicines safely and effectively direct to patients should apply fully to all hubs including DSPs. Why is it that DSPs are being
treated differently to bricks and mortar pharmacies? It's essentially the same patients receiving the same medicines from the same wholesalers.
A further regulatory disparity exists around how parcels must be "tracked and signed for" to be reasonably certain medicines are delivered into the hand of the
intended recipient, as per existing regulations.
Clearly an untracked, unsigned package cannot be guaranteed to finish in the hands of the intended recipient.
There is a very real possibility that such omission could lead to community pharmacy closures which will, in turn, lead to unemployment and a reduction in the
care services. At a time when integrated care systems have just gone live, the removal of vital support services leading to further inequalities is the wrong
message for both providers and patients alike.
Diabetes affects over 537 million people worldwide; by 2045, this is estimated to increase to 783 million. [1] With the growing prevalence of diabetes,
it's even more important to utilise all options to support people with diabetes (PwDs) in managing their daily life with diabetes.
Where do PwDs most often access healthcare support? On average, PwDs visit the pharmacy three-to-eight times more than the general population to obtain medicines
and testing supplies.[2] It is clear that pharmacists play an integral role in empowering the self-management needs of PwDs beyond the traditional role of
supplying medicines. This relationship, however, may be underutilised.
Research suggests there is a lack of broad recognition of pharmacists as a key source of diabetes care, and that resource constraints - particularly following
the COVID-19 pandemic - can interfere with patient education provision and training.[3,4] Furthermore, the circumstances and role of the pharmacy vary, nationally
and internationally. At Roche Diabetes Care we would like to shine a light on the increasing value of community pharmacists as important figures in the well-being
of PwDs.
Pharmacists, councillors and NHS leaders came together at Portsmouth's first Community Pharmacy Summit to address some of the challenges facing community
pharmacy locally.
They explored ways to reduce the huge pressures on pharmacy, tackle abuse towards staff, enable pharmacists to undertake training to treat more illnesses, and to
protect the current and future workforce.
Portsmouth City Council, which hosted the Summit on Wednesday 15 November, also invited representatives from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, University
of Portsmouth, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board and businesses to discuss new opportunities to work together.
Held at Portsmouth Guildhall, the event was chaired by Cllr Matthew Winnington, Cabinet Member for Community Wellbeing, Health and Care, and Cllr Gerald
Vernon-Jackson, Cabinet Member for Transport.
Community pharmacy could play an important role in proactive detection of heart valve disease (HVD), which remains under-recognised and under-detected in
England, suggested a new report published by Wilmington Healthcare.
Pharmacy bodies, including Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and Community Pharmacy England (CPE), have also endorsed the
report, which encourages Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to consider the innovative approach of detecting HVD with the help of community pharmacists.
Despite HVD detection being a priority listed in the NHS Long Term Plan, a large number of people with HVD remained undiagnosed and untreated in the country due
to lack of awareness of the disease prevalence.
In June 2022, a pilot study was launched in Farnborough Primary Care Network (PCN), Hampshire, to evaluate the feasibility of using e-stethoscopes
(digital auscultation) to detect this heart condition by a community pharmacist.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) made a recent announcement that the Incubator for Artificial Intelligence (i.AI) and NHS England (NHSE) have
joined forces in a groundbreaking move by signing a Collaboration Charter on AI.
This pivotal partnership aims to equip the NHS workforce with the tools and resources to leverage AI technology for enhancing patient care, improving staff
experience, and driving operational efficiency.
The Charter, endorsed by Minister Burghart, Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, and Lord Markham, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the DHSC,
signifies an important step towards integrating AI into the fabric of the NHS.
Under this collaboration, the i.AI team, comprising elite technical experts within the government, will identify opportunities where AI technology can be deployed
responsibly to support the NHS.
This initiative is expected to streamline processes, optimize resource allocation, and ultimately enhance patient outcomes.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) in England has published a review of its 10-year Vision for Pharmacy Professional Practice that was launched in
December 2022 in collaboration with The King's Fund.
The 'one year on' vision report highlighted key milestones achieved in the first 12 months since its publication as well as opportunities for further progress.
It identified the publication of the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, which recognises the significant role that pharmacists play in healthcare and commits to growing
and expanding the pharmacy workforce, as one of the positive policy developments made since the launch of the vision.
The development of a Vision for Community Pharmacy by Community Pharmacy England, the Nuffield Trust and The King's Fund; work on digital integration to enable
community pharmacists to update a clinical record; the launch of Pharmacy First scheme; and the publication of the public consultation of pharmacy supervision
were other key milestones mentioned in the report.
Community Pharmacies are set to significantly upgrade their digital security as the mandatory rollout of NHSmail Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) begins
this month (August 1, 2024).
In an announcement by the Community Pharmacy England (CPE), pharmacies are urged to make the updates following a period of optional MFA implementations that began
in late 2023.
According to the new requirements, the mandatory update is crucial for protecting patient privacy and the integrity of their health records.
By adding an extra layer of security beyond the standard email address and password, MFA helps safeguard against unauthorised access.
This is especially vital in light of increasing cyber threats targeting healthcare systems.
Cyberattacks, including ransomware, can compromise patient records and disrupt care delivery, making robust security measures essential.
The introduction of MFA aims to curb these risks.
According to cybersecurity research, MFA can prevent up to 80 per cent data breaches and block over 99.9 per cent of compromised accounts.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has announced the results of the elections to vacant positions on the RPS Scottish and English Country Boards that took
place at the meeting on June 18.
The Scottish Pharmacy Board elected Jonathan Burton, FRPharmS, as their new Chair and Audrey Thompson to the RPS Assembly, the organisation's governing body.
Jonathan is a community pharmacist and an independent prescriber affiliated with the Right Medicine Pharmacy group in Stirling. He has played an integral role in
the inception, development and delivery of Pharmacy First services in Scotland.
He is an RPS Fellow and received an MBE in 2018 for services to healthcare. Jonathan is also the recipient of the 2023 RPS Charter Award. He previously served as
Chair of the Scottish Pharmacy Board from 2019 to 2021.
"Serving as Chair is a great privilege," said Jonathan while expressing his delight at being elected as the Chair of the Scottish Pharmacy Board.
The NHS England has introduced a training programme for 1000 staff to broaden their community pharmacy roles, thereby improving patient access to services.
Among them, 500 pharmacy staff will be trained to supervise pharmacists during prescription training, while the remaining 500 will provide support for various
training, including pre and post-registration programmes for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
According to the NHSE, pharmacist and pharmacy technician roles are rapidly evolving due to healthcare changes and increased demand for clinical services in
community pharmacy. "There are 3,000 independent prescribing training spots available for 2023/24. Educational supervision is a crucial part of this to enable the
ongoing transformation and skills development of the growing pharmacy workforce."
The NHSE-funded training, scheduled to begin next month, will ensure that those involved in educational supervision, including Designated Supervisors (DSs),
Pre-registration Trainee Pharmacy Technician education supervisors and Designated Prescribing Practitioners (DPPs), can effectively support learners.
Trade bodies have reiterated the call for more funding in response to the reports that ministers are considering a Pharmacy First scheme amid the NHS strike.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that pharmacies could be drafted in to help the NHS to cope when other healthcare workers take industrial action.
But, a PSNC committee member has warned on Monday that the government suggestions are "categorically impossible" without extra funding.
The Company Chemists' Association (CCA) has echoed the sentiment, saying pharmacy network is on the brink of collapse.
"We welcome plans for a Pharmacy First scheme in England. However, after eight years of funding cuts, the pressures on community pharmacies are simply untenable,"
Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the CCA, said.
The NHS Confederation and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has published a report that demonstrated the importance of the
collaboration between industry and the NHS to improve patient outcomes across the UK.
Analysis from the report has shown a significant variation in access to innovative medicines for patients across the UK and showed that uptake of new treatments
in these areas continues to be below the average of similar countries in Europe.
The report, 'Transforming Lives, Improving Health Outcomes', has highlighted four initiatives where effective partnerships between the NHS, patient organisations
and industry have helped to tackle unwarranted variation in the uptake of innovative medicines.
Transforming Lives, Improving Health Outcomes also called for a systemwide secondary prevention strategy covering all parts of the health system creating a barrier
to wider and consistent uptake of innovative medicine. It also noted that newly created Integrated Care Systems have the potential to improve preventative treatment.
The report data also showed a 51% variation of uptake of three types of medicines related to diabetes between NHS Trusts in England.
