In November, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) launched its campaign for pharmacist-led care of people with long term conditions. A brief summary of the report's content and calls to action can be found in the chat details at the top of this page, and the full report, videos and the list of organisations supporting the campaign can be found in this page of the RPS website. In the chat, we looked at each of the four stages of the patient journey from the RPS report in turn, discussing the contributions pharmacy already makes, and the evidence-based calls to action from the RPS to policymakers to fully utilise pharmacy.

Contributors to the chat included RPS staff, pharmacists from community, GP, academic and hospital sectors, pharmacy students, and other health and social care professionals. We were also joined by national charity @ActionforME (the charity this evening's chat host @EmilyBeardall1 works with), adding their support to the patient organisations supporting the campaign and giving examples of ways patients would benefit from further input from pharmacists. Read on for a brief summary of each part of the chat.

The pharmacist's role in prevention and health promotion, supporting self-care of minor ailments, and support to self-manage when a condition becomes chronic were discussed, along with making every contact count #MECC. By listening to a patient's concerns and discovering their needs, pharmacists can empower them by providing information or signposting to support from elsewhere, such as health charities or local support groups. As examples of the support health charities and other patient organisations, @ActionforME told us about their NICE-endorsed Newly Diagnosed booklet written for patients and their health professionals, their self-advocacy resource to empower patients to be able to get their wider health, social care, housing, work and welfare needs met, and their support group directory.

With many long term conditions, early detection is of the utmost importance to prevent complications and deterioration of health. Most agreed that then being able to refer elsewhere within primary care would be beneficial but that this would need to be set up in such a way that it doesn't introduce additional risks. It can also be important that any new symptoms or changes in symptoms are checked rather than being put down to an existing condition. @ActionforME added that patients may find it more convenient to see a pharmacist than accessing their GP. Pharmacists may detect red flags during consultations, or specific screening and referral programmes, such as in the diabetes and atrial fibrillation case studies in the RPS campaign report, and examples from @Michaelwsh and @HadlandRocco:

The suggestions for more joined-up working with other professionals in local primary care were positively received. Local networks of services would need to be built, and Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) could be key to this. The network could also incorporate patient support groups and other outside agencies that could enhance what pharmacy and primary care can offer patients in the local community, such as social prescribing. A TEDtalk about ABCD or Asset-Based Community Development this was shared by @LynneBowers. It was also suggested by @CleverestCookie that care pathways need revising to include pharmacists at each point at which medicines are involved.

It was agreed that this is needed but as something that would improve all aspects of MDT-working and not only end-of-life care.

The following article on palliative care needing to start earlier on in the patient journey was shared:

The Community Pharmacy Forward View was shared:

And a great final tweet to finish the chat with...