Medicines Care and Review Service (MCR)

The Medicines Care and Review service replaces the Chronic Medication Service but retains the overall aim of providing pharmaceutical care and support for those taking medication for long-term conditions.

Community pharmacy teams deliver both structured and opportunistic interventions to help people get the very best out of their prescribed medication as well as minimising the harm that medicines can do.

How the Service Works:

The key intervention within the medicines care and review service is the pharmaceutical care planning process. Pharmacists are expected to populate a patient profile for each person registered under MCR and to undertake a Care Needs Assessment for them within three months of registration.

Completing these gives you a more rounded view of the patient’s health and allows you to identify those patients who have sub-optimal therapeutic management, side effects or poor compliance. Patients should be prioritised for further pharmaceutical care planning based in the identified care needs.

Individual care issues can be created within the patient profile and managed using the reports function on the PCR – effective use of this will allow for robust follow up and closure of identified issues. There are also specific tools within the PCR which support pharmacists to deliver structured supportive interventions for newly prescribed medicines and therapies which are considered high-risk (Methotrexate, Lithium and Warfarin). To facilitate communication with other healthcare professionals and care services, the PCR has a function which allows the generation of an SBAR, which is a standardised method of conveying information about the care of a patient in a clear and concise way by giving an overview of the presenting Situation, any relevant background information and your Assessment and Recommendation as to what action needs to be taken (if any).

Click here for more information on the PCR and access to the full guide

Further details can be found on the Community Pharmacy Scotland webpages.