MEDICATION REVIEWS BY TELEPHONE
The PCN (Primary Care Network) has employed for the Dengie Practices a Company called Provision Healthcare who employ clinical pharmacists to review your medication over the telephone, they can discuss all areas of your medication and will forward any concerns you or they have to your GP to follow up.
Going forward we hope this service will have a beneficial factor to the patients who do not require to be present on the premises and can still have a review.
can do 3 types of reviews
Standard Medication Review approximate duration 20 minutes
Structured Medication review approximate duration 30 minutes
A structured medication review aimed for patients taking various medications this will be a critical examination of a person's medicines with the objective of reaching an agreement with the person about treatment, optimising the impact of medicines, minimising the number of medication‑related problems and reducing waste.
Asthma Review approximate duration 20 minutes
The pharmacists are from an independent company and will contact you over your phone (the telephone number ID will not be a local call or maybe anonymous/withheld) on 3 separate occasions if not been able to make contact, our receptionist or prescription clerk will re-arrange if you missed the calls an approximate appointment time on a day to suit you.
Medication Reviews
Patients on repeat medication will be asked to speak to a doctor or a clinical pharmacist, at least once a year to review these regular medications and notification should appear on your repeat slip or via letter. Please ensure that you book an appropriate appointment to avoid unnecessary delays to further prescriptions.
Please allow two full working days for prescriptions to be processed and remember to take weekends and bank holidays into account. If you wish to collect your medicine direct from the chemist please remember to allow extra time for this service.
Most pharmacies offer a delivery service for those who are house bound or shielding. Please contact your pharmacy of choice to arrange this.
Mid Essex Weblink for Over the counter: Self Care Guidance
Burnham Surgery supports the principles of the Mid Essex Policy on medicines that are available over the counter. An increasing range of medicines are available for purchase. It is particularly the case for patients with a self-limiting illness that they are expected to purchase such medicines after seeking appropriate advice from a community pharmacist or other healthcare professional. Please see the Mid Essex Policy. Mid Essex CCG Medicines Optimisation
Q RISK 10 -19%
Your GP or Nurse may mention during your medication review 'Q Risk' this is a calculation of a person's risk of developing a heart attack or stroke over the next 10 years. A letter below outlining what you can do to improve your score and reduce risk yourself if your Q Risk is between 10 -19%
Q Risk 10-19% We are writing to you today because you have recently had a blood test which checked your cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a proven risk factor for heart disease and stroke. There are different types of cholesterol, and some can be beneficial. However, a certain type (called LDL) is harmful. In general, the higher your LDL cholesterol, the greater your risk of heart disease or stroke (CVD).
We estimate this risk using a tool called QRISK2.
Cholesterol is only one risk factor for CVD. Some risk factors you can control with lifestyle changes. Other risk factors (e.g. your age), you cannot control.
Risk factors for CVD are:
• Age, sex (more common in males) and ethnicity
• Medical conditions – high blood pressure, diabetes, chronic kidney disease
• Strong family history of heart disease (in relatives under 60 years old)
• Poor diet and excessive alcohol
• Smoking
• Being overweight and lack of exercise What does risk mean? Risk is the chance of something happening. Your risk of developing CVD is never zero and increases as you get older. Your QRISK2 score will tell you whether you are at low, moderate or high risk of developing CVD in the next 10 years.
• Low risk = QRISK2 score of less than 10% - this means you have less than a one in ten chance of having a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years
• Moderate risk = QRISK2 score of 10-20% - this means you have between a one to two in ten chance of having a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years
• High risk = QRISK2 score of more than 20% - this means you have at least a two in ten chance of having a stroke or heart attack in the next 10 years
What can I do to reduce this risk?
• Reducing your cholesterol, whatever the level is currently, will help to reduce the risk of having a stroke or heart disease.
• Reducing your blood pressure (if it is high).
• Controlling your diabetes if you are diabetic.
• Stopping smoking
• Increasing exercise and being a healthy weight are also things you can do to help.
Do I need medication?
There is national guidance from the National Institute for health and Care Excellence (NICE) stating that patients with a stroke/heart disease risk between 10 and 20% should be offered cholesterol lower medication (also called statins). Previously this was only offered to patients with extremely high cholesterol or a risk over 20%. There is good evidence that taking statins lowers your risk of heart disease/stroke if you have a risk of 20%. There is also some evidence that this may be effective for patients, like you, with a risk between 10 and 20%. If you would like to discuss starting medication, please make a routine appointment (this can be over the phone) with your usual GP.
Do I need to check my cholesterol again?
With your level of risk we would advise that you have your cholesterol checked again in 5 year’s time. If you make changes to your diet and would like to see the effect that this has had of your cholesterol, then please request another test in 6-12 months. If you are started on a cholesterol lowering medication, then you will require an earlier blood test
Further online information
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/high-cholesterol https://patient.info/health/high-cholesterol
NICE decision aid for taking a statin: http://www.bhf.org.uk/informationsupport/publications/heartconditions/understanding-cholesterol