The leading healthcare education provider, Agilio Software, has used its expert team of NICE Clinical Knowledge Summaries (CKS) authors to create free educational resources to support the rollout of the new NHS Pharmacy First service and alleviate additional pressures on primary care professionals.
Pharmacy First, is expected to be in place across England from January 31st, with over 90% of community pharmacies having already signed up for the new service.
To support the roll-out and ensure that pharmacists have the best up-to-date, quality, evidence-based information, Agilio Software has developed seven e-learning courses for pharmacists on its iLearn platform and is making them available for free. It is hoped that through these new courses, iLearn will assist community pharmacists in diagnosing common conditions, and help to alleviate strain on GPs whilst bringing enormous benefits to patients.
Based on NICE CKS and aligned with the national clinical pathways and patient group directions, these courses provide focused, real-world education and resources to ensure the best possible care is delivered for patients. All courses include a case study, multiple-choice questions to test understanding, and a certificate of completion.
Ross Ferguson, Deputy Editor of NICE CKS and Agilio’s Lead Pharmacist said: “Pharmacy First is a huge opportunity for community pharmacy in England, highlighting the important role pharmacy teams play in their communities. The success of this new service could lead to the development of more clinical services that will benefit patients and the NHS.
“We already provide hundreds of e-learning courses for GPs and, combined with our expertise in producing evidence-based clinical content through NICE CKS, these free Pharmacy First resources will complement other available resources and support primary care and general practice professionals to alleviate the pressures and successfully deliver this new service.”
Pharmacists will be able to register for seven free courses via the Agilio iLearn platform at https://learn.clarity.co.uk/Courses/pharmacy-first.