Mr. Bernard Duggan:

We noted in our submission that there is considerable international evidence to show that carrying out medicines use reviews improves compliance and helps people to manage their medicines better. We engaged with the HSE and the Irish College of General Practitioners. We picked several sites throughout the country and rolled out a pilot medicines use review service. Under the service the primary care team and the local community pharmacist came together to identify patients who would be appropriate and who would benefit from a medicines use review. The medicines use review was carried out with the patient and any issues the patient was having with the management of his medications were addressed. These issues were communicated to the patient's GP. It is important for everyone involved in the patient's care to be aware of what is going on in order that we can all work together to improve the patient's care. Then, four to six weeks later, a follow-up medicines use review was carried out to determine whether the patient had benefited from the initial review and whether the medication issues initially addressed in the review had been resolved. Again, that information was shared with the GP. We found that patients were more aware of what the medication was for and how to take it correctly. Furthermore, GPs found it to be a beneficial service in terms of the communication between the community pharmacist and the GP in respect of the overall care of the patient.