Medicines Use Review Overview

The New Community Pharmacy Contract has three levels of service, Essential, Advanced and Enhanced.  The Advanced Services tier currently comprises of a Medicines Use Review (MUR) service.

The aim of the service is to achieve a concordant approach to medicine taking by:

• Establishing the patient's actual use, experience and taking of their medicines.
• Identifying, discussing and resolving poor or ineffective use of their medicines.
• Identifying side effects and drug interactions that may affect compliance.
• Improving the clinical effectiveness and cost effectiveness of prescribed medicines and reducing medicines wastage.

It is not a clinical review

The reviews are carried out by pharmacists who are accredited by Higher Education providers.

They will normally take place in a designated area within the pharmacy which is confidential and allows two people to sit down without being overheard.

Exceptions are allowed under certain specified conditions. Pharmacists in pharmacies not able to provide such confidential areas will need to explore these exceptions.

MURs will not be suitable for all patients and most PCTs have provided guidance on suitable patient groups although the pharmacists can invite any patient that they feel would benefit significantly.  If outside of the guidelines this may need to be justified before payment is received.

 A MUR should be conducted every 12 months and the pharmacist can engage with the patient in two ways:-

• A planned MUR - this is aimed at patients on multiple medicines and with long term conditions and will be the focus of the PCT guidance. Such patients must have had their medicines dispensed at the pharmacy for at least the last 3 months.
•   An intervention MUR - this is aimed at patients where a significant issue arises during the dispensing of the perscription.  There is no 3 month requirement for these patients.

The reviews must take place in the confidential area mentions above and will generally take up to 25 minutes from initial engagement to conclusion.

A nationally agreed form has to be completed.  This is in triplicate with one copy going to the patient, one to the GP and one for the pharmacy.  For planned MURs much information  can be completed before the consultation requiring less of the pharmacist's time.

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