Dispensing wisdom: More complex medicine is making pharmacists' role crucial.
The government wants Scotland's 4500 pharmacists to play a more direct role in frontline care for patients.
Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon said pharmacists were often the first people patients turned to for treatment and had played a key role in recent initiatives such as helping smokers to quit.
Ms Sturgeon spoke as a review was announced into the role played by pharmacists in community healthcare.
She said: "Pharmacists play an increasingly important role in the direct care of patients. As pharmaceutical drugs grow in complexity it is essential that our pharmacists, who are experts in medicines, work in partnership with GPs and others to ensure that patients receive the best results from their treatment and that adverse effects are minimised."
She went on: "Pharmacists' work goes far beyond that of the supply of medicines and includes direct patient care such as medication reviews for those at risk of falls and prescribing clinics for patients with chronic pain.
"However, we believe that there is further scope to develop and enhance their role for the future, as well as the arrangements that underpin the planning, contracting and delivery of pharmacists' services to ensure their longer-term sustainability and achieve the high-quality healthcare to which we are committed."
The review will be conducted by Dr Hamish Wilson, a respected figure who has been on the board of the Care Commission and is a member of the General Medical Council. Support comes from Professor Nicholas Barber, a world leader in the field of academic pharmacy practice based in the University of London's school of pharmacy.
The review examines how to make the best use of available resources, the pharmaceutical needs of residents in care homes and the effective use of technology to give pharmacists more time to spend with patients and other health workers.
