GP Pharmacist

Tags
Clinical Terms
A clinical pharmacist working within GP practices, optimising medication management and providing patient-centred care as part of the NHS primary care team.

What is a GP Pharmacist?

What is ?

GP Pharmacists, also known as Practice Pharmacists, are highly qualified healthcare professionals who work as part of the clinical team within general practices in the UK. Introduced as part of the NHS England's GP Forward View, these specialists use their extensive medication knowledge to improve patient outcomes, reduce prescribing errors, and alleviate GP workload. They conduct structured medication reviews, manage long-term conditions, and provide clinical advice to both patients and healthcare colleagues, helping to integrate pharmacy expertise directly into primary care settings.

GP Pharmacist Best Practices

What is ?

  • Conduct regular structured medication reviews for patients with complex or multiple medication regimens
  • Develop collaborative working relationships with GPs, nurses and other PCN healthcare professionals
  • Implement protocols for safe deprescribing and medication optimisation
  • Provide accessible medication advice clinics for patients with concerns about their treatments
  • Utilise clinical system data to identify patients who may benefit from pharmaceutical intervention

Use GP Pharmacist in a Sentence

What is ?

  1. The GP Pharmacist conducted a comprehensive medication review to identify potential interactions and optimise the patient's treatment plan.
  2. Patients with long-term conditions can book appointments directly with the GP Pharmacist for medication-related queries and support.
  3. The Primary Care Network expanded its multidisciplinary team by recruiting two new GP Pharmacists to improve prescribing quality and patient care.
Frequently Asked Questions about
GP Pharmacist

What does GP Pharmacist mean?

A GP Pharmacist is a clinical pharmacist who works within general practice settings as part of the primary care team. They specialise in medicines optimisation, conducting medication reviews, managing repeat prescriptions, supporting patients with long-term conditions, and providing expert pharmaceutical advice to both patients and healthcare colleagues within the practice.

How do GP Pharmacists differ from community pharmacists?

While community pharmacists primarily dispense medications and offer advice in high street pharmacies, GP Pharmacists work directly within GP practices as part of the clinical team. GP Pharmacists focus on clinical consultations, structured medication reviews, long-term condition management, and optimising prescribing practices. They have greater access to patient records, work collaboratively with GPs, and typically don't dispense medications but instead concentrate on clinical care and medicines optimisation.

What qualifications do GP Pharmacists have?

GP Pharmacists hold a Master's degree in Pharmacy (MPharm), have completed a pre-registration year, and are registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council. Most have additional postgraduate qualifications such as independent prescribing certification and clinical diplomas. They typically have several years of clinical experience before moving into general practice roles, and many participate in the NHS-funded Clinical Pharmacists in General Practice training pathway to develop specialised primary care skills.

What patient services do GP Pharmacists provide?

GP Pharmacists provide numerous patient-facing services including structured medication reviews, long-term condition clinics (such as for asthma, COPD, diabetes, and hypertension), medication queries and advice consultations, prescription reviews and monitoring, support for patients during care transitions (like hospital discharge), deprescribing support, and medication optimisation. Many GP Pharmacists are also independent prescribers who can initiate and adjust medications within their scope of practice.

How are GP Pharmacists funded within Primary Care Networks?

GP Pharmacists are primarily funded through the NHS England Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), part of the Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service (DES). This scheme provides PCNs with funding to recruit clinical pharmacists, with NHS England reimbursing 70% of the costs in 2019/20, and up to 100% from 2020/21 onwards (subject to a maximum reimbursable amount). PCNs can employ GP Pharmacists directly or through shared employment models with other healthcare providers such as NHS trusts or community pharmacy organisations.

10x primary care outcomes with remote clinical pharmacists
Hand-off everyday clinical tasks to our remote pharmacists using ARRS funding, in less than 2 weeks.
Start Setup
New
The Complete ARRS Funding Guide
Everything you need to know about NHS Arrs Funding for 2025.
Read

Hire a remote pharmacist
by December 14

Save thousands of hours in pharmacist training, task allocation and prescription processing. Clinical Rx is the all-in-one remote pharmacist solution, ready to go in less than 2 weeks.
Start
 
Prescription Management
Medication Reviews
QOF Management
Discharge Letters
Clinical Supervision
Now
48-72 Hours
12-36 Months
6+ Months
2 Months
2-5 Hrs/Week
3-4 Hours
< 12 Months
1-5 Months
< 1 Week
Included in Contract
The All in One
Remote Clinical Pharmacist
Hand-off everyday clinical tasks using ARRS funding, in less than 14 days.
Prescription Management
17
Medication Reviews
17
Discharge Letters
17
QOF Support
17
LTC Reviews
17
Backlog Support
17
Supporting
Your Growth
Enjoy our tools, tips and techniques on how to 10x your clinical practice.
PCN Glossary
A-Z library of PCN terminology
17
Expert Guides
Learn from clinical experts
17
Case Studies
Hear from our partners
17
Calculators
See how much you can save
17
Clinical Rx © 2025
Terms
Privacy
Cookies Policy
Sitemap
{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What does GP Pharmacist mean?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "A GP Pharmacist is a clinical pharmacist who works within general practice settings as part of the primary care team. They specialise in medicines optimisation, conducting medication reviews, managing repeat prescriptions, supporting patients with long-term conditions, and providing expert pharmaceutical advice to both patients and healthcare colleagues within the practice." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How do GP Pharmacists differ from community pharmacists?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "While community pharmacists primarily dispense medications and offer advice in high street pharmacies, GP Pharmacists work directly within GP practices as part of the clinical team. GP Pharmacists focus on clinical consultations, structured medication reviews, long-term condition management, and optimising prescribing practices. They have greater access to patient records, work collaboratively with GPs, and typically don't dispense medications but instead concentrate on clinical care and medicines optimisation." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What qualifications do GP Pharmacists have?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "GP Pharmacists hold a Master's degree in Pharmacy (MPharm), have completed a pre-registration year, and are registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council. Most have additional postgraduate qualifications such as independent prescribing certification and clinical diplomas. They typically have several years of clinical experience before moving into general practice roles, and many participate in the NHS-funded Clinical Pharmacists in General Practice training pathway to develop specialised primary care skills." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What patient services do GP Pharmacists provide?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "GP Pharmacists provide numerous patient-facing services including structured medication reviews, long-term condition clinics (such as for asthma, COPD, diabetes, and hypertension), medication queries and advice consultations, prescription reviews and monitoring, support for patients during care transitions (like hospital discharge), deprescribing support, and medication optimisation. Many GP Pharmacists are also independent prescribers who can initiate and adjust medications within their scope of practice." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How are GP Pharmacists funded within Primary Care Networks?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "GP Pharmacists are primarily funded through the NHS England Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), part of the Network Contract Directed Enhanced Service (DES). This scheme provides PCNs with funding to recruit clinical pharmacists, with NHS England reimbursing 70% of the costs in 2019/20, and up to 100% from 2020/21 onwards (subject to a maximum reimbursable amount). PCNs can employ GP Pharmacists directly or through shared employment models with other healthcare providers such as NHS trusts or community pharmacy organisations." } } ] }