Implementation of pharmacist-led medication reviews in general practice

Medication review conducted collaboratively by pharmacists and general medical practitioners (GPs) is a widely researched strategy to optimise medication use [1–3].Home Medicines Review (HMR) is an Australian government funded collaborative medication review service for people living independently in the community. This service has traditionally involved a GP referring a patient to their preferred community pharmacy, which in turn arranges a pharmacist to conduct the review. In October 2011, an additional referral pathway was introduced. Rather than referring to a community pharmacy, GPs may now refer directly to an HMR accredited pharmacist. In this issue, Freeman et al. [4] describe an innovative practice model, consistent with this new referral pathway, in which an accredited ‘practice-pharmacist’ works in a GP medical practice.