Scottish patients with long-term conditions will be given a "five-star" service from pharmacies thanks to a new scheme, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon has announced. Skip related content
The chronic medication service will see patients with ongoing medical conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, being given "care plans" by their pharmacists.
Ms Sturgeon said the new service - which is the first of its kind in the UK - would "transform" the role pharmacists play in providing care and would also help reduce the amount of drugs that are wasted.
Under the scheme, patients' records will be shared between GPs and pharmacists.
It will allow people with long-term conditions to register with a pharmacist, helping them build up a relationship and enabling them to receive personalised care.
The initiative also helps ensure that patients receive the right medication at the right time, improving patient safety and reducing medicine wastage.
GPs will be able to give patients serial prescriptions, that will last for either 24 or 48 weeks, with people then able to collect their medicines from the pharmacy every few weeks without needing to go to the doctors.
More than 80 million prescriptions are dispensed in Scotland each year, with about two-thirds of these being given out to patients with long-term conditions.
Announcing details of the scheme, Ms Sturgeon said: "The chronic medication service will transform the role of pharmacists, making better use of their skills and expertise as they work alongside GPs to provide quality care for the millions of Scots who use our pharmacies the most."
She continued: "As well as improving patient care, this service will also help to reduce drug wastage. In these tough financial times it is important to be as efficient as possible. Thanks to this new system, patients will receive a new five-star service within existing budgets."
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