Latest News
Check out the latest news from the Canterbury Community Pharmacy Group.
Script 4 Change pharmacy project Update
The Script 4 Change pharmacy project is now into week 13 of the 16 week process. The response towards the project from the GM medical staff has been incredibly positive with good engagement at all levels.
The Project team has been focusing on the trialling and implementation of Standard Work and a team based approach for the General Medicine wards.
Quit Card Services now available through community pharmacy
Are you interested in becoming a Quit Card provider? If you have completed the ABC elearning module, you are eligible to deliver quit card services from 1 May 2012. Read an update here, or contact the project manager on projects@ccpg.org.nz for more information.
eSCRV Accounts
The Canterbury DHB have had a significant number of electronic Shared Care Record View account requests come in from pharmacies (nearly 200!), some of which were completed prior to the DHB going on-site. Unfortunately they have had some trouble with their outgoing email recently and don't know for sure who has received their account information, and who has not.
Those pharmacies who have submitted requests but have not yet received their account details, please contact David Mackay via email.
David Mackay
Dave.MacKay@cdhb.health.nz
027 454 1758
CCPG Memo: National Pharmacy Services Agreement (PSA)
Dear CCPG Members
Over the past two years CCPG has represented member pharmacies on the National Pharmacy Services Agreement (PSA) Working Group. Karen Crisp has balanced her Pharmacy Guild and CCPG responsibilities professionally and the board of CCPG acknowledge this significant contribution.
The PSA engagement processes are now progressing with Pharmacy Guild and Canterbury DHB led meetings in the last 10 days. The deadline for consultation on the new agreement is 27 April, 2012.
CCPG expects there to be two pharmacy agreement options in Canterbury; the national PSA and a local alliance-based agreement. CCPG supports the concept of the new service based model with its direction but the transferring of the total financial risk to pharmacies is unacceptable. CCPG would however support a “risk sharing” arrangement.
CCPG understands that Pharmacy owners have the option of changing to a local agreement at any time providing they meet the criteria established by the Pharmacy Service Level Alliance (PSLA) and even if they have already agreed to take up the national agreement.
Over the past week key issues from PSA engagement have emerged. These are summarised in this memorandum and were considered and agreed to at the CCPG Strategy Meeting this morning (Friday).
Oral methotrexate alert and action plan
Document purpose: To highlight that patient harm and death have occurred in New Zealand when the weekly dosing schedule of methotrexate is inadvertently prescribed, dispensed or administered as an incorrect daily dose.
Click here to download full document (PDF)
New service model for community pharmacy has more focus on patients
A proposed new model for community pharmacy has a stronger emphasis on services to patients with higher needs and a strengthened role for community pharmacists, working in partnership with prescribers, such as GPs.
The 20 District Health Boards today begin a month-long information and consultation process with local pharmacists and a range of key stakeholders across New Zealand to explain the new service model.
Julie Patterson, Lead DHB Chief Executive for Pharmacy, said the proposal is an exciting development for the pharmacy profession.
“It strengthens the pharmacist’s role in the modern environment of integrated health care focusing around the patient’s needs,” she said.
The model has been developed over the past two years with national representatives of pharmacists’ organisations and PHARMAC. The Ministry of Health and other key stakeholders including GPs have also made a contribution to the development of the new approach.
“The model endorses and builds on the excellent work being done by many pharmacists already working in a patient-centred model of care,” Mrs Patterson said.
Mrs Patterson said the proposal came about from the desire to give pharmacists incentives to make better use of their clinical expertise in medicines management and the need for DHBs to better manage pharmacy dispensing costs.
Currently pharmacists are funded on the basis of the numbers of medicines dispense. The new arrangements would link the funding to clinical pharmacy services provided to patients.
In addition to information and consultation meetings being held by each DHB, the pharmacy sector organisations will meet with their members to discuss the proposed model.
When local consultation finishes on 20 April, feedback will be considered and the proposed service model will be finalised and readied for implementation from 1 July through the Pharmacy Services Agreement through which DHBs fund community pharmacists.
Click here to download a high-level overview of the new service model
March update from the Canterbury Primary Response Group
Thank you for returning the survey and engineering reports for your practice/pharmacy. The CPRG team, in conjunction with a structural engineer have prioritised the findings from the surveys – this has been determined by age, building construction, damage and use of the facility.
We have sent this list through to CERA for their sign off with our process and await their confirmation. CERA have agreed to support our scheduled process and we will be sending out letters to everyone next week to advise the order of priority in which the DEEs will need to be completed.
Building Closures Information Sheet
Buildings are currently being assessed all over Canterbury with some being ordered to close until further assessment of repair. The purpose of this information sheet is to help you plan now just in case the building you occupy is assessed as unsafe and you are required to cease your business operation as a result of a temporary building closure.
New MMS Patient Consent Form
A new Medication Management Service Patient Consent Form is now available for download. The form provides consent for:
- I understand what is involved in the Medication Management Service and agree to take part in the service.
- I understand that information discussed with my pharmacist is confidential and will not be shared with anyone other than my doctor and other healthcare providers involved with the care of my health.
- I understand that some of my data may be used by the Canterbury DHB and/or CCPG to assist with improving and developing the service.
Community Pharmacy Sector Update
Pharmacy sector agents and the District Health Boards (DHBs) reassure community pharmacists good
progress is being made toward building a better model of community pharmacy.
Existing contract to be rolled over from 1 May to 1 July
The 20 DHBs have decided to roll over the current Agreement through a short variation to 30 June, with the new Pharmacy Services Agreement to start on 1 July. The reason for the roll-over is to give adequate time to ensure the model is clinically safe for patients and pharmacies, and also to make sure it is financially sound. It is imperative that the implementation of the new Agreement is as smooth as possible...
Free help and support for Canterbury businesses
Recover Canterbury was established after the earthquakes to work directly with businesses to accelerate business recovery and prepare businesses for future growth.
How can Recover Canterbury help my business?
Recover Canterbury has a wide range of free services and resources to help small and medium sized businesses recover after the earthquakes.
eSCRV introduced in the Canterbury Region
A new way of sharing health information has been introduced in the Canterbury region. Called the Shared Care Record View or eSCRV for short, the system takes certain patient information that’s already routinely collected and makes it available to specified clinicians providing care for the same patient.
The F-Word - An Update on Community Falls Prevention
The Canterbury Clinical Network have prepared a new Community Pharmacy Manual regarding Falls Prevention and Falls Prevention Management.
"This is a physiotherapy led initiative, in association with the Canterbury Clinical Network, to update key health professionals about the falls prevention intervention pathway in Canterbury. The referral of at risk people onto falls prevention intervention programmes is intended to reduce the number of falls and therefore the number of emergency department presentations."
For more information, and to download the Falls Prevention documents, click here.
CCPG Members survey
All CCPG members are invited to participate in a short ten question survey to help inform strategic planning for 2012-2013.
Follow this link to complete the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/MC3MVLP
Surveys received by 5pm on Thursday 1 March will go into a draw for a $50 voucher from Peter Timms Meats in Edgeware.
Updated Pharmacy Translation Kit now in 11 languages
Patients who have difficulty with the English language can now get good healthy advice in one of 11 languages from their community pharmacy, thanks to the updated Pharmacy Translation Kit.
Published by the Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand (Inc), the Translation Kit comes with general and pharmacy related phrases and is designed to help pharmacists and their staff communicate more effectively with non-English speakers.
Update on the Pharmacy Service Agreement from the DHB
Please click link below for your information an update on development of a proposed new pharmacy service agreement, including:
- A new patient-centred community pharmacist services model; and
- Options for close control changes.
As noted, DHBs will be engaging with community pharmacies about the proposed new agreement in March, and we will provide more detail about this shortly.
Click here to download update on the Pharmacy Service Agreement (PDF)
eSCRV Early February Update
This is the first in a series of updates on the electronic Shared Care Record View (eSCRV) project. There will be others as major milestones are achieved.
Medicines Reconciliation Letter
Medicines Reconciliation has been recognised internationally as an important process to reduce medication errors at point of admission, transfer within a healthcare setting and on discharge.
Click here to view the Medicines Reconciliation Letter (PDF)
Contacting CDHB Regarding Prescribing Issues
If you have a problem with a prescription originating from a Christchurch hospital, in most instances you are best to contact the prescriber or another member of their team initially as they will know most about the specific patient the prescription relates to.
CERA Detailed Engineering Evaluation on every Pharmacy Building
To all Canterbury Pharmacy owners and managers,
Some of you will have recently been contacted by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) regarding engineering assessments required on every General Practice and Pharmacy Building within the Waimakariri, Christchurch, Banks Peninsula and Selwyn Districts. A letter was to be sent to us all, from CERA, giving a two month limit to have a Detailed Engineering Evaluation (DEE) performed on our facilities. This engineering evaluation is probably more complex than anything previously undertaken.
Realising that our energy levels may be low and that this timeframe would be difficult to achieve, we have negotiated with CERA to allow the Canterbury Primary Response Group to work up a staged process, which can satisfy their requirements, over the next 6 months. For us to support you, we will need to work with some urgency and hope to have your cooperation in the process:
1) First we need to survey each Practice and Pharmacy and see whether you would like us to support you or the building owner through this process.
2) Secondly, with the help of a structural engineer on our team, we will need to prioritise which buildings need assessments first.
3) Thirdly, we would like to offer the building owner some engineering packages that would satisfy CERA’s legal requirements.
4) It must be clear that the cost of these assessments will be at the building owner’s expense.
Each Practice and Pharmacy will receive a mailed covering letter and survey by Monday 13th February. We will be working to a tight timeframe needing those surveys faxed back by the following Monday 20th.
Thank you for considering this and helping with the replies.
Regards
Dr Phil Schroeder
Primary Care Coordinator
Canterbury Primary Response Group
MMS December Newsletter
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the MMS team! We are available throughout the holiday period to do reviews, especially while you are short staffed.
MMS November Newsletter
October saw the mobile MMS team at full strength to help support MMS in Canterbury and drive MMS referrals.
MMS referrals are growing steadily for both community pharmacy and the mobile MMS team, doubling in October...
Pharmacy Demonstration sites
Here's your chance to be involved in the local Alliance Agreement! Information has been sent out to pharmacies and general practice on the opportunity for demonstration sites to be funded to develop the new service model. Click on the following link for more information http://www.ccnweb.org.nz/Activities/PharmacySLA.aspx or contact Deborah Callahan on deborah@ccnweb.org.nz or 03 353-0211.
Medication Management Service
More than 60 Canterbury Pharmacies have engaged in the Medication Management Service and there are now four mobile pharmacists in place to serve and assist in the implementation of this new service. For more information contact Karen Kennedy on karen.kennedy@ccpg.org.nz, 03 353 9926 or 027 560 9715.