Gareth Chapple
Swansea Bay University Health Board
Context
Embedding a dedicated advanced prescribing pharmacist within the cardiology multidisciplinary team (MDT) is essential to improve patient safety and care. Cardiac patients often require complex medication regimens, and errors in prescribing or medication management can lead to adverse outcomes such as hospital readmissions, medication-related harm, and extended hospital stays. By placing a pharmacist at the heart of the MDT, it ensures proactive interventions in medication management, enhancing the safety and quality of care provided to cardiac patients.
Project Idea
The pharmacist will take a proactive role in optimising medicines use, ensuring that prescribing is safe, accurate, and aligned with clinical guidelines. This approach shifts the pharmacy role from reactive medication supply to active participation in patient care decisions, which directly benefits patients through better outcomes and fewer medication-related errors.
How it will be done
The embedded pharmacist will work alongside the cardiology team, attending ward rounds and actively participating in prescribing decisions. They will conduct medication reviews, ensure proper formulary switches, and monitor for guideline compliance. Data will be collected to assess the impact of pharmacist interventions, with the aim of demonstrating improvements in prescribing accuracy, discharge turnaround times, and reductions in medication errors.
Anticipated Benefits
This role will enhance patient safety by reducing medication errors, preventing adverse drug reactions, and ensuring timely and appropriate medication adjustments, which leads to fewer readmissions and complications. The pharmacist’s proactive involvement in discharge planning will streamline processes, reducing delays, and improving continuity of care after the patient leaves the hospital. Additionally, this will promote better coordination between hospital and community. The pharmacist will also focus on guideline-compliant prescribing, formulary adherence, and cost-effective medication use, such as facilitating the switch to cheaper generic or biosimilar drugs. These interventions are expected to generate significant financial savings by optimizing prescribing patterns, reducing the use of high-cost medications, and minimising waste.
