Pharmacy Technician

Job summary

We are looking for a Pharmacy Technician to work in our busy practiceand as such, we are looking for amotivated individual who is flexible to respond to the developing nature of therole and the needs and priorities of individuals requiring support. We willoffer the successful applicant training and support for career progression.

Main duties of the job

The successful applicant willjoin our Pharmacy team and work under the supervision of the PracticePharmacists to ensure the safe, accurate and timely supply of prescribedmedication, provide technical and administrative support to the clinical teamas well as supporting the team with queries from patients and other healthcareteams including face to face over the telephone. The successful applicant willalso help with medicines reconciliation of incoming clinical correspondence.They will also help patients to get the best from their medicines bycommunicating changes to them, improving repeat prescribing processes,promotion of repeat dispensing and taking part in the annual PrescribingQuality Improvement Schemes.

About us

Melrose Surgery is looking to recruit a Full/Part time PharmacyTechnician for our multi-disciplined friendly practice to join our establishedPractice Pharmacy team. Melrose surgery comprises of 4GP Partners, two Practice Pharmacists, one Pharmacy technician, 2 PracticeNurses, 3 Healthcare Assistants, GPAs a Paramedic, and a team ofadministrators and receptionists. We are CQC Good Rated. We use the EmisComputer face of Primary Care is changing, and thisincludes developing Primary Care Clinical Pharmacy and we have remained at theforefront of changes to Primary Care.

Job responsibilities

PHARMACYTECHNICIAN JOB DESCRIPTION

Clinical Pharmacy in General Practice is part of an excitingprogramme of transformation to develop a new model of care which addresses ourambition to deliver person-cantered, coordinated care in our Practices. TheClinical Pharmacy in General Practice model is supported by the direction ofnational policy including the Five Year Forward View and GP Forward View wherethere is a need to better utilise the role of pharmacy within primary care topro-actively help patients stay safe and well and out of hospital as well ashelping to reduce the demands on general practice.

Pharmacy technicians play an important role, complementingclinical pharmacists, community pharmacists and other members of the PCNmulti-disciplinary team. Pharmacy technicians are different to clinicalpharmacists as they are not able to prescribe or make clinical decisions,instead working under supervision to ensure effective and efficient use ofmedicines.

The purpose of the role is to lead improvements to maximisesafe, cost-effective best practice in prescribing to improve the quality ofpatient care. The post holder will help patients to get the best from theirmedicines by switching medications to agreed and approved protocols, improvingrepeat prescribing processes in General Practice, including promotion of repeatdispensing and online ordering, minimising clinical risk and aiming to reducewasted medicines.

In addition, the postholder will be responsible for encouraging the development of betterunderstanding of the principles of medicines optimisation throughout thepractice teams and promoting good practice in line with therapeuticdevelopments.

SPECIFIC JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

CLINICAL

Work with the Clinical Pharmacists and Clinicians inaccordance with agreed practice prescribing standard operating procedures.

Process repeatmedication requests, including the conversion of acute requests to repeatmedicines, changing quantities of medicines. Processing prescriptions in linewith agreed clinical protocols and within your competency

support medicationreviews/monitoring and medicines reconciliation post discharge (or othertransfer of care) and synchronizing medicines for patient especially iftransferring between care settings, linking with local community pharmacies.

Undertake patientsupporting roles to ensure effective medicines use, through shareddecision-making conversations with patients.

Support theClinicians and Clinical Pharmacists in Structure Medication Reviews (SMR) organise necessary monitoring tests prior to SMR.

Manage shared careprotocols and liaise with Clinical Pharmacists for more complex patients

. To develop and maintain medicines related communicationto all Practice staff

To assist with the development and review of medicineaudits

Provide a contact for patients and colleagues withmedication queries.

Support withproject work/prescribing initiatives/clinical audits under the support of thePharmacist

Liaise withClinicians and staff to resolve prescribing queries.

TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE

To update and maintain accurate patient medication recordson the practice clinical computer system, including advice given and actiontaken.

To assist thePharmacist with data analysis of prescribing behaviour in line with NICEguidance and local clinical commissioning directives.

To adhere to strictconfidentiality policies at all times.

Attend local meetings seeking to improve access tomedicines or repeat prescribing processes.

Support promotion and maintenance of Electronic RepeatDispensing (eRD) and online ordering

Support the development of practice reception teams instreaming general prescription requests, so as to allow GPs and clinicalpharmacists to review the more clinically complex patients.

Support the implementation of national prescribing policiesand guidance within GP practices, care homes and other primary care settings.

All Pharmacy Technicians must work within theircompetencies, and have professional indemnity for their role

Experience

Desirable