A new document, “Practice based commissioning: A guide for community pharmacists”, is launched this week by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB). The guide provides Local Pharmaceutical Committees (LPC) and community pharmacists with the knowledge to effectively engage with Practice Based Commissioning (PBC); improving the quality of services offered, and developing better access for patients.

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Most people usually think of community pharmacists (chemists) when pharmacy is discussed. However, the new community pharmacy contract enables pharmacists to provide services that might benefit PCTs, GP practices and their populations e.g. Medicines Use Reviews. These benefits may have been small to date and the impact of new pharmacy contract has been disappointing, although there have been some pioneers who have pushed the boundaries and set up enhanced services.

Lloydspharmacy has just announced that it has carried out 100,000 MURs since their introduction in 2005. This demonstrates a significant commitment by pharmacists and their teams in the 1350 Lloydspharmacies in England and Wales.