U.K.'s Lloyds Pharmacy partners with university, hospital on counseling for discharge patients
LIVERPOOL, England — LloydsPharmacy locations here will be counseling patients coming out of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University hospitals in an effort to improve outcomes as part of the first research collaboration in the United Kingdom between a hospital, university and community pharmacist, Liverpool John Moores University announced Monday.
The pilot aims to improve the way patients use their medicines outside of the hospital and will be carried out in the newly opened Centre for Pharmacy Innovation at the LJMU School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences.
"Many patients find it difficult to manage their medication when they are discharged from hospital and this often leads to their health deteriorating and they end of having to come back into hospital," stated Alison Ewing, clinical director of pharmacy at the Trust and chair in pharmacy innovation at LJMU’s Faculty of Science. "The [National Health Service] aims to make greater use of community pharmacies to support patients outside hospitals. Our research aims to find ways in which hospital and community pharmacies can work together so that patients can benefit from greater support in managing their medication better."
"With pressure on the NHS continuing to rise and patient safety being more important than ever, there is an opportunity for pharmacy to alleviate this pressure by providing hospitals with an approved clinical pathway," added Andrew Willetts, healthcare solutions director leading the project on behalf of LloydsPharmacy. "It is exciting that through this research, we have the opportunity to improve the continuity of care after hospital discharge and change the face and quality of health care forever."
"There have been numerous attempts to improve aspects of the discharge process for medicines in the United Kingdom," noted Charles Morecroft, professor of pharmacy education and professional practice at LJMU’s Faculty of Science. "However these have not made any sustainable difference to patient safety or quality of care. We are delighted to conduct this pioneering research with LloydsPharmacy and the Royal."
Research will initially focus on identifying improvements in how patients’ medicines are managed and prescribed when they are admitted to hospital and when they are discharged home and must continue taking medicine. The research aims to find a new process that provides safe and effective management of medicines for patients from the hospital to the community with an enhanced role for community pharmacies. The new model will be piloted at the Royal and evaluated with the aim of providing a new way of working for hospitals and pharmacies across the United Kingdom.
The project also will support the development of a post-graduate education and training programme to better equip community pharmacy teams with the skills to advise patients about their health, from minor ailments to diabetes and asthma control, providing a resource for the wider NHS community and pharmacy profession.