Structure Medication Reviews are essential, says RPS England

RPS Vice-Chair says pharmacists must maximise their role to help patients and reduce avoidable hospital admissions

In a recent policy statement, Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) England has called for a heightened focus on the delivery of Structured Medication Reviews (SMRs) in primary care.

This call to action comes amidst concerns that the pharmacy workforce is increasingly being diverted from these critical reviews, despite their demonstrated clinical and economic benefits.

RPS England's key recommendations highlight the necessity for Primary Care Networks (PCNs) to recognise that medicines optimisation and SMRs are integral to their core contracts and that PCNs are accountable for their delivery.

The policy emphasises the need for PCN pharmacy teams to prioritise SMR activities, particularly for high-risk patients, and for SMR uptake and delivery to be regularly monitored and reviewed at both the Integrated Care System (ICS) and PCN levels.

To support the benchmarking and evaluation of SMRs, RPS England also calls for improvements in the quality and accuracy of SMR coding and structure.

Additionally, the policy advocates for increased funding for patient outcome-oriented research to measure and evaluate the value of SMRs in England.

Brendon Jiang, Vice-Chair of RPS England, expressed significant concern over the current trend of deprioritising SMRs in practice.

"We are concerned that changes to the PCN contract mean that structured medication reviews are being deprioritised by practices that are working flat out," Jiang stated.

He highlighted the ongoing pressures across the health service, which have resulted in pharmacists being redirected from conducting SMRs to other activities.

"Polypharmacy can potentially cause significant harm, and it is vital that pharmacists can maximise their role in helping patients to get the most from their medicines and reducing avoidable hospital admissions," Jiang added.

Structured Medication Reviews are essential for optimising medication use and mitigating the risks associated with polypharmacy, especially among elderly patients and those with multiple health conditions.

The evidence base supporting the clinical and economic benefits of pharmacist-led SMRs is strong, underscoring the importance of maintaining a focus on these reviews within primary care.