Pharmacy practice
Our pharmacy practice research aims to improve patient-centred healthcare delivery by finding evidence-based solutions to the demands of patients. Our researchers also highlight the importance of pharmacy services in improving sustainable selection, use and disposal of pharmaceuticals to lessen the impact pharmaceutical use has on the environment.
We're researching medicine optimisation – the process of ensuring the right patients get the right choice of medicine at the right time. We're exploring best practices for using computerised personal health records to support medicines optimisation.
We're researching service innovation in the National Health Service (NHS) to develop better pathways and outcomes for NHS patients that involve pharmacists. We’re also exploring the role of self-monitoring in the prevention of cardiovascular risk. Our research can help the NHS save money by improving how pharmacies help patients take medicines safely and effectively.
And we're examining the skills and knowledge pharmacy workers need to deliver better care. We're using this information to shape how we teach the next generation of pharmacy professionals in our School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences. We’re also working on ways to instil professional values, identity and accountability in graduates to ensure they make effective practitioners, and developing new assessment methodologies to better test a student’s competence in a safe environment.
Our pharmacy practice research covers the following topics
- Medicines optimisation
- Polypharmacy
- ADR reporting
- Clinical reasoning
- Diagnosis
- Quality of life
- Pharmaceuticals and the environment
- Service re-design
- Professionalism
- Simulated learning
- Peer-learning
Collaborations
We’re also researching new models of care in partnership with NHS hospitals, local pharmacy organisations and others bodies like the Drug Safety Research Unit.
Projects
Our projects have been funded by institutions such as Pharmacy Research UK, NIHR Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) and Health Education England. Among our recent successes is our Healthy Living Pharmacies project, which was implemented in pharmacies throughout England.
Our work is regularly featured in industry publications, including Pharmacy Education the International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, the Journal of Interprofessional Care, Pharmacy in Practice, the Journal of Self-Care, the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, and the Journal of Evaluative and Clinical Practice.
Publication highlights
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How do pharmacists construct, facilitate and consolidate their professional identity?
Pharmacy 2016, 4, 23; doi:10.3390/pharmacy4030023, Patrick Dawodu and Paul Rutter
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Protocol for a Systematic Literature Review, JMIR Res Protoc 2018, vol. 7, iss. 6, e159, Elisavet Andrikopoulou, Philip James Scott, Helena Herrera
Project highlights
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Healthy Living Champions network
An opportunity for community pharmacy’s sustained participation in tackling health inequalities: Zachariah Nazar, Jane Portlock, Paul Rutter, David Brown
Research group
Interested in a PhD in Pharmacy, Pharmacology & Biomedical Sciences?
Browse our postgraduate research degrees – including PhDs and MPhils – at our Pharmacy, Pharmacology & Biomedical Sciences postgraduate research degrees page.