Community pharmacist and general practitioner collaboration in England and Wales

A closer working relationship between general practitioners and community pharmacists has been vigorously promoted. Ninety-seven pharmaceutical advisers in post at the 100 family health services authorities (FHSAs) and health commissions in England and Wales were contacted for information about formal interprofessional collaboration. Replies were received from 75 per cent of the advisers, all of whom reported some level of current or planned collaborative activity in their areas. Meetings between individual practices and their local community pharmacist(s) were reported in 27 cases; in eight FHSAs and health commissions these were held to develop a practice formulary. Pilot projects, generally focusing on prescribing, were reported by 45 FHSA and health commission pharmaceutical advisers. Joint training events were frequently reported; the English and Welsh Centres for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE and WCPPE) general practitioner/community pharmacist interface course had been organised in 22 FHSAs and health commissions and was on the agenda in a further 11. The training of community pharmacists to improve interprofessional collaboration was reported in 12 FHSAs and health commissions. The pharmaceutical advisers recognised the importance of collaboration as the way forward in primary care and the need to include the community pharmacist as a member of the primary health care team.