Pharmacists in different settings Flashcards
(30 cards)
What are the five main pharmacy sectors?
Community, hospital, primary care, industry, and academia.
What is the primary role of community pharmacies?
Provide essential and advanced services including dispensing, public health, repeat dispensing, and Pharmacy First.
List three essential services offered in community pharmacies.
Dispensing medicines, disposal of unwanted medicines, and public health advice.
What are advanced services in community pharmacy?
Services like Pharmacy First, flu vaccination, hypertension case finding, smoking cessation, and the New Medicines Service.
What is the Pharmacy First service?
Allows pharmacists to supply prescription-only medicines for certain conditions under Patient Group Directions.
What is a Patient Group Direction (PGD)?
A signed agreement allowing specified professionals to supply and/or administer a medicine to groups of patients without a prescription.
Give an example condition treated under Pharmacy First.
Uncomplicated UTI in females aged 16–65 using nitrofurantoin or trimethoprim.
What is the New Medicines Service (NMS)?
A follow-up service where pharmacists call patients starting new medicines to support adherence and safety.
Why is the New Medicines Service important?
It improves patient confidence, supports safe medicine use, and encourages adherence.
What is the role of the hospital pharmacist?
Supply medicines, advise on treatment plans, attend ward rounds, and optimise safety and effectiveness.
Name three responsibilities of hospital pharmacists.
Ward-based care, clinical trials participation, and specialist outpatient clinics.
What is a specialist pharmacist?
A pharmacist who manages specific patient groups, runs independent clinics, prescribes, and liaises with other healthcare professionals.
What is medicines optimisation?
A practice to ensure the right medicines are given to the right patient at the right time for best outcomes.
What role does a pharmacist play in surgical wards?
Stopping or adjusting meds pre-surgery (e.g. warfarin, ACE inhibitors, antidepressants) and managing post-op meds.
What is a hospital dispensary?
The part of a hospital pharmacy where medications are prepared and supplied to wards or patients.
Why is MDT involvement important for pharmacists?
It ensures medication safety, effective decision-making, and integrated care across professionals.
Give an example of a pharmacist’s role in an MDT.
Highlighting drug interactions, recommending alternatives, or adjusting dosing based on renal function.
What does ‘scope of practice’ mean?
The range of activities and responsibilities a healthcare professional is educated, competent, and authorised to perform.
What is pharmacovigilance?
Monitoring the effects of medicines after they have been licensed for use, especially to identify previously unreported adverse effects.
What is a clinical trial?
A research study that tests how well new medical approaches work in people.
What are pre-clinical trials?
Laboratory and animal studies done before human testing to assess safety and efficacy.
What happens in post-marketing surveillance?
Ongoing monitoring of drug safety once it is available for use in the wider population.
What is pharmacoeconomics?
The study of the cost and value of drugs and drug therapies.
What are generic medicines?
Medications created to be the same as existing approved drugs after patent expiry, often at lower cost.
