Harry McQuillan offers insights into Numark’s 12 principles for a future model of pharmacy ownerspharmacy owners practice…
As part of its commitment to enhancing business performance and ensuring safe, effective pharmaceutical care, Numark has developed 12 guiding principles to help its members in adapting to evolving skill sets and shaping their future.
Numark’s future model for community pharmacy practice presents an ambitious vision for the sector, focusing on delivering a range of clinical services, enhancing the health of local populations, and becoming an integrated part of primary care.
Harry McQuillan, Chairman of Numark, reveals that these principles were derived from changes in pharmacy education, such as the integration of prescribing into undergraduate courses.
He views these principles as a formal recognition of the skills that pharmacists and pharmacy teams have developed over time, particularly in the area of independent prescribing.
“These principles formalize those evolving capabilities of pharmacists, especially in independent prescribing,” McQuillan tells Pharmacy Business.
He emphasises the importance of leveraging data and technology to maximize these capabilities and transform the role of pharmacists from responders to active participants in patient care.
“While many people now use smart devices that are capable of recording and sending health data, this information is largely underutilized in both pharmacy and healthcare.
“As that type of technology becomes more dependable, it could offer valuable insights, transforming pharmacists’ roles from merely responding to prescriptions to using data as a basis for interventions, including writing prescriptions themselves,” he says.
Future of pharmacy
McQuillan describes their future model of pharmacy as “still grounded and anchored in the communities, with a clear separation between who is involved in the supply and care functions.”
“Technician teams will focus on the accuracy of medicine supply, while pharmacists and prescribers will concentrate on delivering patient care within the same premises,” he explains.
Numark’s12 principles have been shared with Chief Pharmaceutical Officers across the four nations for initial input.
McQuillan says that the responses from two CPhOs have been positive, with more meetings planned to gather further views.
“If someone doesn’t agree with the new principles or that direction of travel, I welcome discussion and debate to assess whether adjustments may be needed Read More….