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Pharmacy

Volume 487: debated on Thursday 29 January 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to encourage the use of medicine use reviews to meet local health priorities. (250932)

There is provision within the Pharmaceutical Services (Advanced and Enhanced Services) (England) Directions 2005 to allow primary care trusts to notify pharmacists in their area of the categories of patients who would benefit from the provision of Medicines Use Review (MUR) services. The pharmacist should consider this in determining who to offer the service to.

Further, the White Paper ‘Pharmacy in England: Building on strengths—delivering the future’ makes clear we are concerned that the provision of MUR services is currently geared to rewarding the volume of MURs undertaken. We believe it is necessary for MUR services to be prioritised to meet health needs. NHS Employers (NHSE) and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) have discussed a mechanism for delivering this objective and ensuring funding rewards health outcomes. NHSE and PSNC have now presented their proposals to the Department, which are being considered.