Our Proactive Clinical Approach
Our Proactive Pharmaceutical Practices
Our Commitment:
We believe that a pharmacy’s role is to be proactive: our clinical approach ensures that residents’ medication needs are regularly reviewed, optimised, and aligned with best practice guidelines.
How it Links to CQC:
- Regulation 9 – Person-Centred Care: Clinical interventions ensure medications are tailored to residents’ evolving needs.
- Regulation 12 – Safe Care and Treatment: Medication safety is enhanced by proactive clinical checks and reviews.
- Regulation 11 – Need for Consent: Providing easy access as per manufacturers license to support informed consent.
Key Features:
- Alerts for potentially inappropriate medications.
- Collaboration with GPs and care teams to optimize prescribing.
- Focus on deprescribing where appropriate to reduce polypharmacy and risk.
- Access to PILs through official MHRA links to support informed decision-making.
- Pharmacy complaints policy aligned with CQC requirements for fair, prompt resolution.
Medication management in care homes is not just about dispensing prescriptions — it’s about continually reviewing, optimising, and personalising resident care. A truly proactive clinical approach improves patient outcomes, strengthens CQC compliance, and supports care homes in delivering safer, more efficient medication management. At Hot Chemist, clinical excellence is at the heart of everything we do
CQC and NICE Guidance
CQC and NICE Guidance on Clinical Medication Management
CQC and NICE set clear expectations for the ongoing clinical management of medicines:
- Regulation 9 — Person-Centred Care: Treatment must reflect residents’ individual needs, preferences, and changing conditions.
- Regulation 12 — Safe Care and Treatment: Providers must mitigate risks associated with medication use, including side effects, interactions, and overmedication.
- Regulation 11 — Need for Consent: Residents must be supported to make informed decisions about their treatment.
NICE guidance also stresses the importance of regular medication reviews, deprescribing initiatives, and multidisciplinary communication.
Key Principles of a Proactive Clinical Approach:
- Ongoing medication reviews and optimisation.
- Identification of risks such as polypharmacy or drug interactions.
- Collaborative working with GPs, specialists, and care staff.
- Supporting informed consent and resident engagement.
The Risks of a Reactive Medication Management Model
Without a proactive clinical strategy:
- Inappropriate prescribing (e.g., unnecessary antipsychotics) can continue unchecked.
- Residents may suffer adverse effects from drug interactions or polypharmacy.
- Opportunities for deprescribing and improving quality of life are missed.
- CQC inspections may highlight weaknesses in person-centred medication planning.
Regulatory Risk: CQC inspections often downgrade services where medication reviews are infrequent, undocumented, or ineffective.
Case Study
Case Study Example: Transforming Medication Safety with a Proactive Approach
Imagine a care home operating on a reactive medication management model. Over time:
- Residents accumulate lengthy and complex medication regimens.
- No structured reviews are conducted to identify drug interactions or unnecessary therapies.
- Residents experience side effects that are not proactively flagged.
During a CQC inspection, inspectors criticise the lack of medication review processes, contributing to a “Requires Improvement” rating in “Safe” and “Effective” domains.
If the care home had partnered with Hot Chemist:
- Scheduled quarterly medication reviews would proactively identify and resolve medication risks.
- Collaboration with GPs and prescribers would lead to deprescribing where appropriate.
- Residents would receive clearer explanations about their treatments, supporting informed consent.
The result: safer medication regimens, improved resident quality of life, and stronger compliance outcomes.
How Hot Chemist’s Proactive Clinical Model Strengthens Your Care Home
At Hot Chemist, we provide:
- Regular clinical medication reviews tailored to individual resident needs.
- Polypharmacy risk assessments and deprescribing recommendations.
- Clear communication pathways with GPs and multidisciplinary teams.
- Access to patient information leaflets (PILs) through MHRA resources to support informed consent.
- Training for care staff on recognising medication-related risks.
Conclusion: Clinical Excellence as the Foundation of Safe Care
A proactive clinical approach is essential for delivering safe, person-centred, and compliant medication management. By anticipating risks rather than reacting to problems, care homes can:
- Improve residents’ health outcomes and quality of life.
- Demonstrate robust governance and clinical oversight during CQC inspections.
- Build a culture of continuous improvement in medication safety.
Hot Chemist’s clinical support model empowers care homes to deliver outstanding medication care, every day.
Want to enhance your clinical medication management? Contact Hot Chemist today — your care home pharmacy specialists.
