Medication review

This is a downloadable programme that enables you to describe the key communication and consultation skills and techniques required for person-centred care. You will learn how to explore a person’s beliefs, ideas, concerns and expectations and tailor the consultation to help them get the best from their medicines and to make informed health and lifestyle choices. The programme also develops your skills in engaging the person in shared decision making and enabling them to be a true partner in the consultation.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• explain the concept of person-centred care
• describe the key communication and consultation skills and techniques required to conduct patient-centred care
• apply methods to assess your own practice and identify areas of improvement
• support patients, by using a patient-centred approach, to help them get the best from their medicines and/or in making healthy lifestyle choices
• further develop your practice by exploring tools and techniques, such as health coaching.

Pharmacy professionals, as an integral part of the NHS Long Term Plan, are now routinely working in GP practices, care homes, secondary care, community and commissioning within a multi-disciplinary team. This growing infrastructure demands the need for effective communication between healthcare professionals working in different sectors. This programme will support you with documenting in patient clinical records to enable continuity of patient care in integrated local services.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• summarise the legal and regulatory requirements for patient clinical records
• describe the information required for clear, concise and appropriate patient clinical records
• recognise the required structure expected when writing in patient clinical records
• document details of patient consultations and clinical interventions concisely and accurately in patient clinical records.

The overall aim of this course is to create a culture shift in practice by supporting pharmacy professionals to embed shared decision making as part of personalised care.

Learning Outcomes:

• define what is meant by shared decision making
• describe how shared decision making can improve a consultation from the perspective of a pharmacist and the person that they are consulting with
• demonstrate the use of the tools and techniques outlined in this course to support shared decision making*
• compare these different tools and techniques in order to select those that you will use in practice
• evaluate your ability to use shared decision making in practice.

* To fully meet this learning outcome as part of this programme you will need to arrange role play activities independently. Further details on how to do this are shared as part of the programme. If you are unable or choose not to arrange the role play activities you can achieve this learning outcome through experiential learning and applying what you have learnt from the programme to your practice.

The Structured mediation review e-course is currently being reviewed and updated. The updated version is planned to be launched in March 2025. 

This guideline covers safe and effective use of medicines in health and social care for people taking 1 or more medicines.

This guideline covers optimising care for adults with multimorbidity (multiple long-term conditions) by reducing treatment burden (polypharmacy and multiple appointments) and unplanned care.

This resource provides supports for healthcare professionals reviewing medication for adults with multimorbidity.

In this programme you will consider what is different about consulting with people with mental health problems. You will also recognise the impact of stigma and discrimination experienced by those with mental health problems and how to adapt your consultation style to address their needs and concerns.

Learning Outcomes:

• describe the mental health treatment gap and the importance of parity of esteem (valuing mental health equally with physical health)
• recognise the impact of stigma and discrimination experienced by those with mental health problems
• select the key national practice standards most applicable to pharmacy consultations with people with mental health problems
• reflect on your consultations with people experiencing mental health problems
• maximise the effectiveness of your consultations in this field by applying person-centred skills and behaviours
• identify possible risks in your consultations with people with mental health problems.

The aim of this workshop is to develop your knowledge and skills to enable you to take a shared approach to the safe and appropriate deprescribing of medicines.

A note about keycodes, and pathway and non-pathway event listings

After you select Choose an event, please be aware that workshop listings which require keycodes to access are for pharmacy professionals taking part in the Primary care pharmacy education pathway, while workshops that do not require a keycode are for all other pharmacy professionals who have identified this topic as a learning need.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• describe the process of deprescribing and the involvement you can have within your role
• explain the importance of involving the person and the multidisciplinary team in the deprescribing process
• apply a person-centred and shared decision-making approach to deprescribing that considers the person’s perspective and experiences
• use a stepwise approach to the process of deprescribing, from identification through to reducing or stopping a medicine
• incorporate tools that can support the deprescribing process.

You can access the MR-CAT resource on the Consultations skills for pharmacy practice website.

In this web-based resource you can find information about the Medicines Related Consultation Assessment Tool (MR-CAT). The resource includes guidance on how you can use it for observed assessment as well as being able to self-assess your current practice.

You will also find guidance on how to gain feedback from people accessing your services using the Patient satisfaction questionnaire (PSQ).

This website resource also forms part of the Consultations skills – face to face and remote learning gateway. On this learning gateway page, you will find a range of learning resources which aim to increase your knowledge, skills, and confidence in relation to developing your consultation skills.

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of all aspects of this learning programme you should be able to:

• outline the purpose and structure of the MR-CAT
• describe how the MR-CAT can be used for both self-assessment and observed assessment
• explain how both peer and patient feedback can support professional development
• apply Pendleton's rules to support developmental feedback
• use the MR-CAT to critique practice through video observation

This page contains a selection of tools that health care professionals may find helpful when undertaking medication review

This guidance describes the 16 national medicines optimisation opportunities for the NHS in 2023/24, and signposts to resources to help with their implementation.