Cluster page — medicines optimisation
Medicines optimisation for GP practices
Practice-level MO
What a GP practice owns directly
Even where SMR delivery and ARRS pharmacist funding sit at PCN level, the practice retains direct ownership of three medicines optimisation workstreams that no one else can deliver: the repeat prescribing process, discharge reconciliation for the practice's own patients, and the local prescribing safety culture (SEA, MHRA alert closure, complaint handling). Getting these right is what separates a "high-performing" practice from a "compliant" one in CQC inspection terms.
For a practice working alone, the highest-ROI first move is usually moving repeat prescribing authorisation from GP to clinical pharmacist using a defined scope of practice. This single change can release 4–6 GP hours per week per 10,000 patients and dramatically improves SEA quality.
Weekly delivery
The practice MO weekly rhythm
- Daily: pharmacy technician cohort identification and recall (HRDs due, SMRs due, discharges received)
- Mon: discharge medicines reconciliation triage against EMIS/SystmOne discharge inbox
- Tue–Wed: clinical pharmacist SMR clinic — 8–10 patients/day, 30-min slots
- Thu: high-risk drug monitoring rota (DMARDs, lithium, amiodarone, anticoagulants)
- Fri: repeat prescribing query handling, MHRA alert response, SEA write-up
- Monthly: prescribing safety dashboard review with GP partner and lead pharmacist
What good looks like
Practice-level MO benchmarks
Resources & templates
What BCS provides to client practices
Every BCS-supplied pharmacist arrives with a starter pack of templates — scope of practice, SMR consultation framework, HRD monitoring SOP, repeat prescribing SOP, MHRA alert closure tracker — pre-aligned to the local ICB formulary. Practices can request the pack standalone via the contact form.
- SMR consultation template (READ/SNOMED coded)
- HRD monitoring SOP for the 7 most common high-risk drugs
- Repeat prescribing redesign SOP and pharmacist scope of practice
- Discharge reconciliation workflow for EMIS and SystmOne
- Prescribing safety dashboard (Excel / Power BI variants)
Frequently asked questions
Practice MO — FAQs
Where should a GP practice start with medicines optimisation?+
Start with the three workstreams that release GP time fastest: repeat prescribing redesign (move authorisation to a pharmacist-led model), discharge medicines reconciliation within 7 days, and a high-risk drug monitoring rota. SMRs and polypharmacy reviews follow once the practice has a clinical pharmacist with protected SMR clinic time.
Can a single practice deliver MO without joining a PCN programme?+
Yes for the practice-owned interventions (repeat prescribing, HRD monitoring, in-house reconciliation). SMR delivery against the DES target and ARRS-funded pharmacist provision sit at PCN level — but practice-level MO is fully possible and often the precursor to scaling at the network.
Who codes the work for QOF and the DES?+
The clinician completing the intervention codes it in the patient record using SNOMED terms agreed at PCN level. The PCN data lead (usually the lead pharmacist or business manager) extracts and reports against DES/QOF targets monthly.
What does a typical practice MO weekly rhythm look like?+
Monday: discharge reconciliation triage. Tue/Wed: SMR clinic (8–10 patients/day). Thu: HRD monitoring rota. Fri: repeat prescribing query handling, MHRA alert closure, SEA. Pharmacy technician runs cohort lists daily and prepares reviews.
Talk to our Service Development team
30-minute discovery call. We'll show you how BCS maps to your PCN's specific priorities.