A wider scope of practice for pharmacists in reducing medication risks and errors is reflected in a recently released update of the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s (FIP’s) 2020 publication Medicines use review: A toolkit for pharmacists.
The updated resource, renamed Medication review and medicines use review: A toolkit for pharmacists, presents medicines use review as a subtype of medication review.
Co-editor Filipa Alves da Costa, of the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon, Portugal, said medicines use review was a service exclusively designed to improve medication adherence.
“… whereas medication review is more comprehensive and has more ambitious goals,” Dr Alves da Costa said.
“Medication review is a structured evaluation of a patient’s medication that results in various possible interventions, including those focusing on optimising medicines use, but also other interventions taken collaboratively with other healthcare professionals that will impact on clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes.”.
Dr Alves da Costa went on to say that when undertaking an medicines use review, the pharmacist considered patients’ beliefs, preferences and concerns, and reached agreement to maximise medication adherence.
“Medication review encompasses this person-centred approach but is also an opportunity for the healthcare team to evaluate a patient’s current medication in light of the clinical situation,”
Dr Alves da Costa said.
“This revised toolkit places the pharmacist firmly within this healthcare team, and calls on pharmacists to lead these services to improve patient safety and minimise medication harm.”
The toolkit gives examples of medication review practices around the world and gives guidance for implementing effective medication review services, including advice on addressing challenges in low-resource settings.
