Care home pharmacy: helping pharmacies service care homes

Exploring the role of a care home pharmacy and how it differs from normal pharmacies 

A care home pharmacy performs many of the same services as a traditional pharmacy except that they specialise in working with older adults living in care homes and are equipped with help manage the unique circumstances of working with older adults. 

While care home pharmacies can carry out many of the same services as traditional pharmacists, such as dispensing medicines, filling in repeat prescriptions, providing emergency prescriptions and more, where they differ is that care home pharmacists can also provide services such as oversee medication administration and reviews, provide more personalised one-to-one care, design more tailored medication management plans alongside providing training and guidance for care home staff and other services.  

Assisting with medication management and reducing errors 

In some cases, older people living in care homes can be prescribed as many as eight different medications to deal with complex health challenges, so having someone working closely with the care home, getting to understand and build relationships with staff and residents, means that these complex challenges can be managed more effectively.  

This seems to be borne out in practice, as was found when a study was conducted in 2023 by the University of Leeds, which involved researchers trialling onsite pharmacists in dozens of care homes. The conclusive they came to, based on evidence from the study, was that care home pharmacists working onsite reduce the risk of potential risk posed to residents from medicines. They were also found to cut down on the unnecessary use of medicines and were able to ease the burden for GPs.  

David Alldred, Professor of Medicines Use and Safety led the project and spoke on the University of Leeds website, saying: "Older people living in care homes have complex health needs and are usually prescribed multiple medicines. Our large-scale, high-quality study has shown that specially qualified prescribing pharmacists can safely prescribe for care home residents to ensure they are on the right combination of medicines.   

“Importantly, the pharmacists also stopped medicines that were no longer needed or appropriate which reduces medicines burden for residents and is likely to prevent future side-effects. Key to success was the pharmacists building relationships and working in partnership with GPs, care home staff and residents." 

So, it seems to be that by having a care home pharmacy on hand to review the more complex medication needs of residents, errors and unnecessary use can be avoided. 

Medication reviews, consultations and staff guidance 

More to the point, regular medication reviews for older people living in care homes are an essential part of the process because as complex as their needs are, they can change very quickly, and without an adequate review process in place, it can be all-too easy to keep administering medication that is no longer necessary and worse still, not only does it mean care homes are wasting money on unnecessary medications, but continued administration could have an actively harmful outcome for residents. 

Working with a care home pharmacy means that these issues can be averted because they will offer advice on medication management, the potential side effects to consider and if there are any alternative treatment options available if necessary. This type of consultative approach means that care staff can work with a firmer knowledge base to know that they are managing medications effectively when it comes to changing circumstances and needs of residents. 

It also saves time because, as mentioned above, changes in medications would often need to go through a GP who would need to evaluate the needs of residents and alter the prescription accordingly. But a care home pharmacist can save crucial time because they can consult on what changes are needed and in necessary circumstances even write emergency prescriptions and fill in repeat prescriptions. The process of altering medications as needed can be more agile than if every time a change might be needed, you need to book an appointment with a GP.  

Having this knowledge onsite is valuable for staff too, who can make great use of the presence of such specialised expertise in pharmacy services that are specifically for older adults in care homes. Care home pharmacists can handle the burden of specialised knowledge and experience and the responsibilities that come with that, leaving care staff free to focus on the wellbeing and care of residents. But more than just taking on this responsibility, a care home pharmacy can conduct training with staff to share their expertise and experience which can support staff in increasing their understanding around medications.