Nationally the pharmacy workforce across the integrated care system is expanding and the roles of pharmacy professionals are evolving across different health care sectors. The Enhanced Health in Care Homes Framework and the PCN DES contract both highlight medicines safety as key focus to avoid unnecessary harm to patients, but also to ensure patients receive the most appropriate treatment  whilst trying to reduce medicines waste.

Medicines Reconciliation is a process designed to ensure that all medication currently taken are accurately documented and prescribed upon admission to a care setting and at each transfer of care. By Conducting a medicines reconciliation this process ensures the patient in the care setting receives the medications the prescriber intended, highlighting any discrepancies thereby minimising the risk of medication errors.  The Medicines Reconciliation process also highlights prescribing quantities that can be acted upon to reduce medicines waste.

There are many teams working with care homes across the region who are different stages of development and offering a variety of support to care homes. A document has been developed collaboratively across the region involving pharmacy technicians and a pharmacist to help support pharmacy professionals conducting medicines reconciliations in the care home setting.

The Medicines Reconciliation in a Care Home Setting Good Practice Guidance for Pharmacy Professionals has been designed to help support pharmacy professionals working with care homes where the care of a person is transferred from a health care-setting to a care home.

The guidance outlines best practice for conducting a thorough comparison of the person’s medication  from a range of different sources.  A checklist to support the process of a medicines reconciliation, a list of recommended sources, a process for communicating and documenting the medicines reconciliation along with a template medicines reconciliation form are provided in the Good Practice guide.

Olivia Marshall-Bowater, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin CCG, Rebecca Patel, Coventry and Rugby CCG and Warwickshire North CCG, Usha Parmar, Worcestershire Health and Care Trust, and Niloofar Aalipour, Stafford CCG

The Medicines Reconciliation in a Care Home Setting Good Practice Guidance for Pharmacy Professionals is attached to this newsletter.

Thanks to Olivia, Rebecca, Usha and Niloofar for creating and sharing this guidance. Any questions please email Olivia.marshall-bowater@nhs.net