At MUR Online, we believe that learning as a group on a regular basis will enhance our ability to perform better at our jobs. So we have decided to model our learning communities around that proposed and implemented by CPPE Learning Communities. We call it the MUR Evangelist Areas. Since MUR Evangelist is a registered trademark, we are imposing the following rules for anyone wishing to set up an MUR Evangelist Learning community in their area(s):

1. The Area Lead must be a registered MUR Evangelist and the community registered on the CPPE website as a “MUR Evangelist Area #”.

2. Other members of the learning community do have to be registered on the MUR Online website but they do not have to be MUR Evangelists. A typical MUR Evangelist Learning Community may consist of upto 10 people ranging from Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians, Pre-registration Pharmacists and other pharmacy support staff.

3. The group agree to meet regularly: either weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. The time of the meeting is entirely a matter for the group.

4. The Area Lead administers the meetings agenda via a web portal (Training will be provided).

5. MUR Online (and its partners) will work with the area lead to provide support for the meetings (i.e. venue, refreshments and equipments as needed).

6. All members are encourage to join the MUR Evangelist Learning Communities LinkedIn group (Link) where group queries can be posted and members can respond accordingly. This is the community portal.



Case Study:


MUR Evangelist Area 1:


The MUR Evangelist Area 1 has Jagjiwan Khela as the group lead, with a venue and refreshments provided by bookapharmacist.com. Members of the group include Community Pharmacists, Hospital Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians, Pharmacy Students and Pre-registration Pharmacists. We actively encourage a mix and diverse group.


The agenda for group meetings are detailed on the bookapharmacist website: http://www.bookapharmacist.com/?page_id=548

The group meets every Friday morning at 7am just before going to work.


Picture above is the group at work in one of the morning sessions.

Hello All,

Sorry about the hiatus. We have busy fine tuning our strategies. We are happy to announce that we will be embracing social media more “aggressively” to help deliver our objectives.

We want you connect with us in whatever way is most convenient to you.

We are happy to announce that we are now on:

TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/mur_online

FACEBOOK: http://www.medicines-use-review.co.uk/fbconnect/

LINKEDIN MUR EVANGELIST LEARNING COMMUNITIES GROUP: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2268855

GOOGLE FRIENDS CONNECT: http://www.medicines-use-review.co.uk/gfconnect/

We will sure be using these media to communicate our members’ messages.

Connect with all if you wish. But make sure you connect with at least ONE.

Welcome to the world of innovation…

Webmaster

uhi6sfyj84

The team at Iforg Limited have asked us to inform you of the release of their community toolbar. The Toolbar is compatible with Firefox and Internet Explorer and is a one-stop shop for access to all the Iforg web contents and project contents.


We like the News Ticker which aggregates all contents across all of Iforg’s project channels; including of cause: MUR Online.


We think it is a good way keeping in touch with what we are doing. You can download the toolbar for free by following this link: http://iforg.ourtoolbar.com/


Enjoy…
Webmaster
MUROnline

Hello All,

We have today updated the look and feel of our webblog. You should still be able to find items easily on the blog. This is in line with our aim to continue to provide constant design updates and enhancements to our site.

We are now running the latest version of wordpress on the site and we like the look and feel of the version 2.7.

If you have any queries, do not hesitate to contact us using the contact form on: http://www.medicines-use-review.co.uk/contactus.asp

Webmaster
MUROnline

Happy New Year. We hope the holiday season has been very good to you. As we continue to expand our offerings on MUROnline, we have decided that the site will remain in ‘constant beta’. This mean that we will continue to add interesting features and functionality to the website. We ask you to watch this space for further announcements.

We have therefore decided to do away with our ‘Beta’ logo (below). The new logo has the ‘Beta’ word removed. We use this opportunity to wish you a happy new year.

old logo

new logo

Webmaster

MUROnline

Hello All,


We have been very busy at MUROnline trying to bring innovation to our users.


We are happy to announce a strategic relationship with bookapharmacist.com. Bookapharmacist.com is a locum agency created by Iforg Limited to support the MUROnline project. Bookapharmacist.com has agreed to only use the services of MUR Evangelists who sign up to their motto. Read more about the bookapharmacist.com project (codename Hampshire) here.


We perceive this to be a great boost to what we aim to achieve with the MUROnline projects. Just watch this space!


How does this differ from the Findapharmacist service on MUROnline?


The Finadapharmacist service on our website was conceived as a way of linking the MUR Evangelist to the employer (strictly employers who require the direct services of an MUR Evangelist – and excludes Locum Agencies).

When a validated employer enters the engagement details on our website, the details are e-mailed automatically to all the registered MUR Evangelists (in a specified locality). The MUR Evangelists will then make contact with the employer, if they so wish.

From MUR Online’s viewpoint, we offer no guarantees to the employer and the relationship is between the employer and the MUR Evangelist. We however, carry out basic checks on applicants for MUR Evangelist: We check that they are on the UK Pharmacy register. Remember, the MUR Evangelists also sign up to the 4-point pledge and by implication are accredited to deliver MURs. If you are unsure about the process of becoming an MUR Evangelist please click here. Furthermore you can find out more about the MUR Evangelist by going to http://www.murevangelist.co.uk and entering the ‘EV’ or Evangelist Code. MUR Online will continue to produce support materials for all our users.

Bookapharmacist.com are adopting a more hands-on approach. They are a locum agency in the traditional sense (and are corporate member of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation). They however, offer a degree of emphasis on training for their members.

What does this strategic relationship mean in practice?

1. It is an endorsement of what we are trying to achieve
2. It represents another avenue for the MUR Evangelist to secure valuable and varied employment
3. If bookapharmacist.com is successful in its aims, this may drive up registration for MUR Evangelists and vice versa
4. MUR Evangelists are under no obligations to use the services offered by bookapharmacist.com
5. Duplication of works and contents: Bookapharmacist.com and MUROnline will work closely together on contents-related issues to avoid duplication of work. In most cases, this relationship will result in contents collaboration, which can only be a positive thing
6. Your information will only be shared between the organisations if you ask us to. Your privacy is guaranteed

We are excited about this development, we hope you are…


Merry Xmas and Happy New Year.


Webmaster
MUROnline

In light of the publication of our strategy, we have decided to extend the beta period to the end of December 2008. This will give us the opportunity to deliver a number of our key targets.


This changes nothing. You may continue to use the contents of the site in the usual way.


Thanks very much

…and P.S. we are still very excited about what we aim to deliver!

INTERIM MANAGEMENT TEAM

MUROnline is owned by Pharmangelist Limited. At Pharmangelist Limited we fundamentally agree and believe that input by pharmacists is valuable in enhancing patient care. We are determined to share our vision and inspire our colleagues to achieve their full potentials.

The publication of the pharmacy white paper in England represents ‘one of the most significant opportunities ever for pharmacy to step into its rightful place as a clinical profession’(1,2). Paul Bennett, the chairman of the English Pharmacy Board writes ‘If we dither and get it wrong, we will only have ourselves to blame’(2).

The White Paper

Dawn Primarolo MP, Minister for State for Public Health says: ‘The white paper reflects the views, ideas and innovative working of pharmacists across the country and demonstrates our support and commitment to working with pharmacy and others to deliver a practical, achievable program for the future of NHS pharmaceutical services’. The document describe MURs as providing ‘the opportunity to improve people’s use of their medicines, reducing wastage, improving their health and reducing unnecessary hospital admissions. The government proposes two areas within the current structure of the service that should be addressed: (a) To make stronger provision for PCTs to prioritise MURs to meet their health priorities locally, including health improvement, and to monitor service delivery more effectively. and (b) The funding structure should better ensure that the service is delivering to those who might best benefit, and reward the health outcomes that are achieved.

At MUROnline, we see MUR as an opportunity to develop some of the key points highlighted in the white paper. Through MUR, pharmacists can help:

• Support the promotion of health and help more people take care of themselves.
• Provide specific support for people who are starting out on a new course of treatment for long-term conditions, such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
• Support the screening of patients at high risk of certain diseases.
• Support the broader ‘NHS journey of improvements and move from an NHS that has rightly focused on increasing the quantity of care to one that focuses on improving the quality of care’(3).

The Challenge

At MUROnline, we believe that number of quality MURs delivered in England and Wales still falls significantly short of the target. The current PSNC figures demonstrate that we are simply not delivering enough MURs in England and Wales (4). If the target of MURs per pharmacy is 400/year, then each pharmacy must be delivering an average of 30 MURs per month. Table 1 below shows the average number of MURs conducted per pharmacy claiming MUR payment and average number of MURs conducted per pharmacy in England (Source PSNC website(4)).

*Number of MURs per pharmacy claiming MUR payments
^Number of MURs per pharmacy in England

Table 1

In March 2008, only 16.84 MURs payments were made to pharmacies conducting MURs. More depressing however, to us at MUROnline, is the figure of 8.75 in the same month across all pharmacies in England. These figures imply that there are still pockets of pharmacies not conducting MURs. This is an unacceptable state of affairs to us at MUROnline. So what are we going to do about it?

If we dither and get it wrong, we will only have ourselves to blame –

Paul Bennett, chairman of the English Pharmacy Board

MUROnline Response

The stated objective of MUROnline is to increase the number of quality MURs implemented by pharmacists in the United Kingdom. We aim to achieve this through the motivation and empowerment of our colleagues and by the collating and sharing of the evidence of the benefits of MURs. At MUROnline, we acknowledge a number of good quality works being produced by different organisations to drive the delivery of quality MURs. Notable amongst these are:

1. The PCPA-NPA MUR Support and evaluation program(5): The program has been designed to evaluate how effective MURs are at improving patients understanding of their medicines and subsequent compliance under prescribers’ direction. We await the outcome of this program with anticipation at MUROnline.
2. Pharmacy Magazine and Chemist & Druggist Magazine publish a range of tools on a regular basis to support the delivery of MUR. A set of notable resources includes a CPD module published in June of this year entitled: MURs-getting the essentials right(6) and MURZONE on the C&D website, with contributions from pharmacists(7).
3. There are other initiatives supported by the pharmaceutical industry. GSK Plus produced a document entitled: Communication Skills: effective patient communication skills for Pharmacists(8)
4. Local MUR initiatives. The Hampshire and Isle of Wight LPC has been very pro-active in promoting the values of MUR amongst its contractors. To support the evidence needed to justify the benefits of MUR, the LPC recently published the results of its asthma project. This provided evidence which demontrated the value of MUR in asthma patients(9)

At MUROnline, we have our own strategies for delivering quality MURs. We aim to deploy these strategies in Hampshire, Southampton City and Portsmouth City PCT regions.

Current Position

In April 2008, Hampshire LPC published a staggering figure of £2,500,000 in their monthly newsletter(figure 1). The amount represent the total amount of funding lost to pharmacies in Hampshire and Isle of Wight in 2007. From our viewpoint, this figure represent a significant amount of patients that were not helped to make the best use of their medication in 2007!

Figure 1: LPC News Newsletter April 2008 (10)

If we are still working on the general assumption that each pharmacy need to be achieving an average of 30 MURs/month, then in March 2008: Out of 9,570 possible MURs, only 2,738 was completed in Hampshire, Southampton City and Portsmouth City PCT regions. In percentage terms, this is only 29%!

We however believe that fundamentally, the pharmacist in charge must want to help his patient get the most out of his medication, otherwise, the whole notion that we are medicines experts will start to unravel.

MUROnline does not like this and we are determined to do something about it. Between now and December 2008, we will embark on a road to make significant positive impact on these figures. Our emphasis is on quality MURs and is in line with the theme of the latest Lord Darzi report on the vision for the NHS. We aim to do this with the help and support of all the stakeholders in the Hampshire, Southampton City and Portsmouth City PCT regions. Please watch this space.

Summary

We know at MUROnline, that there is a vast array of reasons why a single pharmacy may not be delivering quality MURs. There is no single solution to these barriers. We however believe that fundamentally, the pharmacist in charge must want to help his patient get the most out of his medication, otherwise, the whole notion that we are medicines experts will start to unravel. We have introduced the concept of an MUR Evangelist and we believe we can make significant contribution by motivating our colleagues to deliver quality MURs. We are going to aim to increase the percentage of quality MUR delivered across the stated PCT regions from 29% to over 50% by the end of this financial year. We can only achieve this if we get the full unequivocal support of all stakeholders. We will come knocking on your doors and we hope you will respond positively.

References

(1) Pharmacy In England: Building on Strengths – delivering the future DOH White Paper ISBN 9780101734127 -  Link

(2) Pharmacy Now: From the Chairman of the English Board: Board considers White Paper Issue 7 Summer 2008 – Link

(3) Lord Darzi of Denham: High Quality Care for All – NHS Next Stage Review Final Report: Full report (ISBN 978-0-10-174322-8) – Link

(4) PSNC MUR Statistics – Link

(5) PCPA NPA MUR Support and Evaluation Programme – Pilot sites chosen – Link

(6) MURs – Getting the Essentials Right: Contributing authors: Jennifer Archer MSc, HRD, FCIPD, FHEA, DipTM, consultant in education and development; Hassan Hajat, MRPharmS, MSc, senior commissioning manager and clinical adviser, Derbyshire County PCT: cpd module pharmacy magazine CPD1 June 2008.

(7) MURZone -  Link  (http://www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk/murzone)

(8) GSK Communication Skills (ref PLS/CDR/05/17633/1-FP – CD Rom). Obtain a free copy from GSK on Freephone: 0800 221441 or email: customercontactuk@gsk.com

(9) Community Pharmacy Asthma Medicines Use Review Project – Outcome Report: Authors: Dr Jane Portlock, University of Portsmouth; Michael Holden, Chief Officer, Hampshire & IOW LPC, Shailesh Patel, Brand Manager, GSK UK Ltd. – request a copy via the Hampshire and IOW LPC website – Link

(10) LPC Newsletter April 2008 – Link

The presentation to the Southampton Branch of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society by Kazeem Olalekan on the 28th of February 2008 entitled the MUR Evangelist – a unique presentation by pharmacists for pharmacists was well received. Thanks to all for your constructive feedback.

[ Click here to view the presentation's feedback ]

The presentation stimulated the appetite of a great deal of the attendee and yearned to know more about MUROnline. They want to know how we plan to achieve the motivation of pharmacists. Troy Blake, a pharmacist from Southampton wrote: ‘I feel I know what an evangelist is but not what it would entail in practice – unsure – sounds exciting’.

It is exciting and we are certainly excited about this. The website is not done yet and we are still working on the content (hence the BETA release). The principle underpinning this project is this: As a group of pharmacists, we understand that the take-up of MUR could and should have been better, but there were valid issues around the implementation that probably alienated a significant majority of our colleagues. We also understand that the only people that will enable the patients to get the best value from the service are the pharmacists. So how does one re-motivate the pharmacist?

Presentations like this one is one way. We are very pleased that it is acting as a trigger for those who are not already accredited and a way to re-energise those who are already delivering the service. We have some interesting ideas about how to implement good MURs and we will share these. However, we also know that there are tons of very good practices out there. By being part of the MUROnline family, we encourage you to share these good practices with your colleagues; after all that is an integral part of the evangelist’s role. You are able to do this by submitting articles on the website.  Furthermore, we aim to make this the number 1 repository for anything relating to MUR. So on the website you might find clinical and practice information at your fingertip to aid the MUR process. Some of the contents may only be available to registered users of our site. MUR Online is the home of the MUR Evangelist and all the things you can do on the website will be at no financial cost to you. All we are truly interested in is a group of pharmacists delivering good quality MURs that will benefit their patients. Moreover, if you register in the BETA period, you can help shape the site’s contents. We want to achieve 100% service delivery across England and Wales in a fun way and taking advantage of Information Technology.

What is in it for me?

We have pondered over this a lot and we think we may be able to provide you with some answers. The overriding benefit is the satisfaction in knowing that you are doing all you can for your patients. We understand that you may want to be rewarded for your efforts. As a regular user of our site, you are demonstrating your passion for the service and we have devised a number of strategies to support you. Whatever your motivation, be it professional recognition or some other remuneration, then we might have something in it for you.

Now, just close you eyes and take a deep breath.  Think about the possibilities for our patients and our beloved profession. Make your mind up positively about MUR. Open your eyes and consider joining this innovation! Register as an MUR Evangelist today.

[ Related Content: Which User are you? Explaining the User Levels on MUROnline ]