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annual review with Pharmacist

D

Debramondey

Newbie
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2
Type of diabetes
MODY
My daughter (age 39) has been told by her G.P. practice that her annual diabetic review will be with the G.P. group pharmacist. Does this seem reasonably? I would of expected she should be seen by somebody fully trained to do her diabetic checks and have the knowledge to offer up to date advice and answer her questions regarding her diabetes. When I was diagnosed 34 years ago, I saw a consultant twice a year, that changed to my G.P. twice a year, which again changed to a nurse once a year. If we have to now see the chemist now do we know if they have received specialist training to care for diabetics or are they just experts in the available drugs.
 
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Hi there
In my experience an annual diabetic review - at my practice anyway- is a review of any meds etc currently taken. Do I need more/less if anything or can something be taken off my extensive prescription. I would have thought that a pharmacist is more than capable of doing this. If you or your daughter have any other concerns or questions them maybe you would need to speak to your gp. But if just a meds check then the pharmacist can easily do that. Hope this helps.
 
Your daughter will have to make sure she has all the recommended checks, bloods, feet etc. I know I wouldn't be happy with this, but the pharmacist could be properly trained and perfectly capable of discussing your care plan for the next year, suggesting more appropriate medication/doses etc.
 
I don’t think I would be happy with seeing a pharmacist as opposed to a DN or GP for my diabetic check. Unfortunately it looks like something that my own surgery would do as they are so short staffed - they had to cancel all of the GP appts the other day because all of the drs were either off sick or on holiday.
 
Is this a new "thing" ? at our last PPG we were informed that our surgery has recruited a pharmacist although there explanation of the actual function was a bit confusing.. Even worse was they had poached them from the pharmacy attached to the surgery..
 
I am sure a pharmacist would be perfectly capable of performing basic checks assuming that includes bloods as well as feet,eyes and BP. The problem would arise when discussing the results and talking about making potential changes. For that I assume she'd need to see a nurse or GP or other specialist which means a 2 step process; some patients may get poor results but be lost to follow up advice or treatment.
 
At present, the following healthcare professionals can prescribe an unlicensed medicine: doctors; dentists; independent nurse and pharmacist prescribers and, in some circumstances, supplementary prescribers (who can be a pharmacist, nurse, midwife, community nurse, optometrist, physiotherapist, radiographer, or chiropodist/podiatrist). In addition to these health professional groups, the following can prescribe a licensed medicine off-label: nurse independent prescribers, pharmacist independent prescribers, and optometrist independent prescribers. However, all healthcare professionals who can prescribe as outlined above are subject to: their individual clinical competence; the professional codes and ethics of their statutory bodies; and the prescribing policies of their employers.

The responsibility that falls on healthcare professionals when prescribing an unlicensed medicine or a medicine off-label may be greater than when prescribing a licensed medicine within the terms of its licence. Prescribers should pay particular attention to the risks associated with using unlicensed medicines or using a licensed medicine off-label. These risks may include: adverse reactions; product quality; or discrepant product information or labelling (eg, absence of information for some unlicensed medicines, information in a foreign language for unlicensed imports, and potential confusion for patients or carers when the Patient Information Leaflet is inconsistent with a medicine’s off-label use).

So I think it would be ok as long as his/her training was adequate and they where covered by the above conditions I would have no problem with it.
 
My surgery do the same for medication reviews.
And what is more, they do it over the phone - which I think is marvellous.

I just got a phonecall one day, and the practice pharmacist introduced himself. Very pleasant, discussed my medication, he explained that any non-routine issues would be referred to a doc. Took less than 10 mins, and saved me the bother and hassle of getting an appointment and walking in, to do exactly the same thing. In my circumstances (using a non-D medication that I have been on for decades, and checking that another med should be left on my possible re-order list) it is the perfect solution.

Would be less enthusiastic if I was having problems or issues, and actually wanted to see a doc. But then, if that were the case, I should just make a doc appt myself.
 
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At my surgery a Health Care Assistant takes a blood sample, measures height and weight, takes BP, checks your feet and updates your profile. Two weeks later after receiving a summary of the blood results in the post you get an appointment with a DN to discuss the results and any action required. This seems to me to be good use of resources.
 
Mr_Pot said:
At my surgery a Health Care Assistant takes a blood sample, measures height and weight, takes BP, checks your feet and updates your profile. Two weeks later after receiving a summary of the blood results in the post you get an appointment with a DN to discuss the results and any action required. This seems to me to be good use of resources.
Click to expand...
That’s what happens in my surgery
 
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