Feb 2013

The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) suggested in a report last month (Action on obesity: comprehensive care for all) that GPs
should direct obese patients to community services, including pharmacies, rather than offering in-house clinics. The report pushes for multi-disciplinary teams with pharmacists working alongside GPs, dieticians, counsellors and physiotherapists, and called for a national model for the commissioning of community services for obese patients.

This is further testament that pharmacists must be doing something right here.
Pharmacies have been running dedicated weight management services for over a decade. In the last couple of years the Royal
Society for Public Health has become more involved in pharmacy, and the NHS has given the nod to the Healthy Living Pharmacy initiative.
The big sticking point for pharmacy has been demonstrating value. But this has all started to change over the last couple of years with the introduction of the Lipotrim Patient Tracker, an online IT programme that keeps patient records for their weight management service and provides for comprehensive audits to be produced.
The evidence produced so far from Lipotrim pharmacies clearly shows that pharmacy offers a very successful and costeffective
service that will make a big impact in reducing the obesity epidemic and the costs to the NHS.
With only two months until clinical commissioning groups (CCG) take over from PCTs, it’s crucial that pharmacists embrace
and push for the RCP model to work and shout out about the evidence.

PDF Version: ICP LIPOTRIM COLUMN Feb_ r1