We now have many additional roles in the practice to help support clinicians and patients.
These include:
Clinical Pharmacist
- Conducts structured medication reviews (SMRs)
- Independent prescribing/deprescribing
- Provides medication advice to healthcare professionals and patients
- Optimises medication (e.g. antibiotic stewardship)
- Translates medicines national policies into local implementation
- Adopts a whole system approach to medicines management
Pharmacy Technician
- Supports Structured Medication Reviews
- Counsels patients on medicines
- Manages prescriptions
- Conducts medicines reconciliation
- Conducts medicines audits
Social Prescribing Link Worker
- Connects people to non-medical community-based activities, groups and services that meet practical, social and emotional needs, including specialist advice services and the arts, physical activity and nature
- Helps people identify issues that affect their health and wellbeing when co-producing a personalised care and support plan
Care Co-ordinator
- Provides co-ordination and navigation through the health and care systems
- Facilitates joint working across organisations and MDTs
- Makes referrals to services and other health and care professionals
- Helps patients prepare for/follow-up
- Supports patients to book appointments
- Signposts patients to information
- Works in partnership with MDT colleagues including social prescribing link worker
First Contact Physiotherapist
- Assesses, diagnoses, treats and manages musculoskeletal (MSK) problems
- Prescribes medication within scope
- Develops skills relating to injection therapy
- Performs diagnostic investigations
- Signposts/refers to health and care services
- Audits of health and care practice
- Requests/progresses investigations
Paramedic
- Assesses and triages calls from patients
- Performs home visits for urgent assessment
- Advises and signpost patients
- Supports anticipatory care plans
- Manages minor illness
Physician Associate
- Manages undifferentiated, undiagnosed cases by history taking, physical examinations and clinical decision-making to establish a working diagnosis and management plan
- While they currently do not have prescribing rights, they can prepare prescriptions for GPs to sign