North Central and East London Commissioning Support Service

Job Title:Prescribing Advisor

Team:Medicines Management

Directorate:Contracting and Quality

Band:7

Responsible to:Assistant Director Head of Medicines Management

Accountable to:Deputy Director and Chief Pharmacist

Context

Standard Statement

The existing generic job description, person specification and knowledge & skills framework remain, however, this role specification page is additional information regarding this specific role.

  1. Context of the role.

This post is based in the Procurement, Contracting and Performance directorate, Medicines Management team who provide an effective and professional medicines management service to our local borough as well as matrix working across NEL CSU.

The post holder works closely with all stakeholders in primary and secondary care. The post holder provides medicines information and monitoring to ensure safe, quality and cost effective practice, promotes clinical excellence and safe use of medicines by utilising medicines optimisation and evidence based - medicine.As a prescribing adviser, this post is responsible for providing medicines management advice to the CCG & CSU and supports managers and staff across NEL CSU to ensure high quality and safe use of medicines. This post helps to ensure clinical governance in relation to medicines, patient safety, clinical effectiveness across primary, and the interface with secondary care.

  1. Additions to the job description (role specific bullet points)
  • Supports the medicines management lead to maintain financial balance.
  • Monitors the prescribing budgets and identifies shifts in the forecast outturn and supports practices with the development and implementation of actions to mitigate the risks of over and under spending.
  • Implements the QIPP programme across practices in the Borough.
  • Identifies problem areas to target and produces cost effective and innovative solutions to these areas.
  • Implements and monitors practice level budget recovery plans.
  • Supports the development and implementation of shared care guidelines, medicines reconciliation, the CEG (Clinical Effectiveness Group) guidelines and participates in matrix working through the JPG (Joint Prescribing Group) / APC (Area Pharmacy Committee) / PPB (Prescribing Programme Board) meetings
  • Supports the development and implementation of the joint formulary and adherence with secondary care colleagues, CCG and other stakeholders.
  • Supports the management and monitoring of new drug therapies and horizon scanning
  • Supports medicine aspects of service redesign and provision.
  • Supports the operations of medicines committees (e.g. JPG / APC / PPB) by using clinical knowledge and skills to support the decision making process.
  • Supports the investigations of medicines related critical incidents and complaints e.g. prescription security, clinical incidents and facilitate systems to implement best practice.
  • Supports CD monitoring and compliance with legislation and regulation.
  • Supports the effective implementation of national guidelines and safety alerts e.g. NICE (National Institute of Clinical Excellence),MHRA (Medicines and Health Regulatory Authority).
  • Provides support to PALS (Patient Advice Liaison Service) in resolving medicines related queries.
  • Analyses complex high cost drug data, benchmarks relevant prescribing information and raise challenges for performance management. Additionally validates high cost drug invoices and / or charges and feeds back to the respective contract managers.
  • Provides highly specialist and complex professional evaluation in the management and verification of IFR tickboxes and notifications through review of NICE guidance and interpretation of the evidence base across the CSU.
  • Provides pharmaceutical advice and support to GPs, nurses, clinical network teams and other relevant stakeholders.
  • Monitors certificates of conformity for unlicensed extemporaneous medicines (specials) received from community pharmacy, to address financial and safety issues that this poses to CSU.
  • Undertakes medicines information enquiries and provides prescribing support.
  • Influences and negotiates with locality leads and GPs to agree prescribing strategies and QIPP plans.
  • Organises and visits all practices for the annual Medicines Management prescribing visit, presents prescribing review data in a manageable condensed format and supports the development and implementation of prescribing action points.
  • Uses clinical knowledge and skills to implement the QIPP agenda around effective prescribing.
  • Provides medicines support around audit work by ensuring selectionsfor borough / national medicines priorities are targeted to promote clinical excellence and conducts analyses to assess the achievement of objectives and provides feedback.
  • Uses a range of complex data ( e.g. ePACT, QMAS, EMIS, ScriptSwitch, CEG) to monitor prescribing patterns and adherence to national and local guidance and to provide evidence based and cost effective information/advice to GPs- Facilitating change in prescribing practice
  • Supports the development and implementation of clinical guidance, audits and protocols to support QIPP or other local / national priorities and engages with appropriate stakeholders (GPs, Nurses, hospital colleagues).
  • Provides current pharmaceutical information and advice to GPs and CCGs (e.g. patent expiry, formulation changes, update guidelines, patent safety alerts / recommendations)
  • Supports medicines related education and training.
  • Supports implementation and monitoring of non-medical prescribing (PGDs, responding to enquiries).
  • Supports implementation of the Oxygen contract.
  • Complete tasks recommended by Medicines Management Lead on any elements around financial management and monitoring.
  • Supports the development, implementation and management of policies and guidelines e.g. PGDs (Patient Group Direction), NMP (Non -Medical Prescribing) queries and audits
  • Supports clinical and medicines committees to implement best practice and national guidance.
  • Communicates with internal and external stakeholders through - Intranet, clinical bulletins, emails, meetings and prescribing messages.
  • Promote positive joint-working and effective working relationships between key external agencies.
  • Liaises and works collaboratively with secondary care colleagues.
  • Participates in Matrix Working and working across the interface with stakeholders which include liaising with Community Pharmacists, ELFT (East London Foundation Trust) and Clinical networks e.g. palliative care, respiratory and the Cardiac Network.
  • Participates in patient engagement to facilitate the dissemination and implementation of national guidance and standards of clinical excellence.
  • Supports the operations of medicines committees (e.g. JPG / APC / PPB) by using clinical knowledge and skills to support the decision making process.
  • Supports the implementation of the Oxygen contract.
  • Supports the processes which ensure that best practice is adopted by all Practices by promoting the following of Trust policies and Guidelines e.g. CD monitoring and Fridge Temperature.
  • Supports clinical and medicines committees to implement best practice and national guidance
  • Supports the medicines management aspects of emergency planning scenarios.

3.Additional person specification requirements (role specific)

Factors / Description / Essential / Desirable / Assessment*
Education / Qualifications /
  • Master’s degree or equivalent in Pharmacy
  • Additional postgraduate qualification (clinical/managerial diploma)
  • Member of the General Pharmaceutical Council
  • Member of Royal Pharmaceutical Society
  • Mandatory Continuing Professional Development to maintain fitness to practice
/ 


 /  / AC
AC
AC
A
Experience /
  • Minimum 4 years post-qualification experience
  • Extensive, community and /or hospital pharmacy experience or experience of providing prescribing support to a health authority, primary care organisation or practice
  • Experience of multidisciplinary working
  • Experience of working in medicines information
/ 


 / A
A
A
A
Knowledge /
  • Knowledge of critical appraisal , medicines information and health economics
  • Evidence of ability to use computer applications e.g. Microsoft Office.
  • Excellent working knowledge of national and local pharmaceutical and prescribing policies, clinical governance, information governance, legislation and guidance which relates to medicines supply, prescribing and practice
  • Working knowledge of GP computer systems
/ 

 /  / AI
AI
AI
AI

Equal Opportunities, Respect and Dignity at Work

NEL CSU is committed to equality of opportunity & diversity in the workplace; all managers and staff are responsible for ensuring that this is delivered in practice.

NEL CSU is equally committed to respect for other people and all managers and staff are expected to be clear of what is expected of them and for ensuring that they commit to this policy in their day to day working life. All staff are issued with a Standards of Business Conduct setting out the organisation’s expectations. Managers are also issued with a Code of Conduct reflecting the Department of Health’s requirements on NHS Managers.

The CSU will not tolerate any forms of bullying or harassment in the workplace. Everyone has a personal responsibility to seek to improve their own and colleagues working lives to create a healthy and productive working environment.