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Pharmacist-led medication reviews in primary care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2013

JA Desborough  and
MJ Twigg
JA Desborough*
Affiliation:
School of Pharmacy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
MJ Twigg
Affiliation:
School of Pharmacy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Dr James Desborough, School of Pharmacy, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich NR4 7TJ. Email: [email protected]
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Summary

Medication reviews in primary care are now an established and important part of the care of patients on multiple medications. In the current NHS this review has demonstrated that pharmacist-led medication reviews can reduce inappropriate prescribing and offer an efficient approach to ensuring reviews are completed. These reviews appear best operationalized with experienced pharmacists who are closely aligned with the patients and prescribers through joined up services. Further developments in pharmacists’ communication skills with patient and prescribers may offer greater benefits in the future.

Keywords

medication reviewprimary health careagedpharmacist
Type
Review Article
Information
Reviews in Clinical Gerontology , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , February 2014 , pp. 1 - 9
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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