The New Medicine Service (NMS) is a well-established advanced pharmacy service based on evidence which suggests that pharmacists can successfully intervene when a medicine is newly prescribed, with repeated follow-up in the short term, to increase effective medicine-taking for the treatment of a long-term condition. From 2017 to 2018, approximately 7.3 million people (17 percent of adults) were prescribed antidepressants in England. It is estimated that about a third of these are newly prescribed. This represents a large cohort that could benefit from the NMS service. There is evidence to suggest that community pharmacists may have a role in improving adherence in the context of depression and following the success of a Pharmacy Integration Programme pilot antidepressants are likely to be added to the community pharmacy new medicines services from April 2023.

With this in mind it is now more imperative than ever that community pharmacists feel adequately trained in supporting people with their mental health needs.

Learning Objectives

After taking this course, participants will have:

• Refreshed knowledge on a range of mental health disorders including anxiety, depression, OCD, PTSD, ADHD, bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia.
• Enhanced knowledge of personality disorders and how these interact with the mental health disorders above.
• Increased knowledge about the latest range of evidence-based pharmacological and psychological therapies used to treat and manage common disorders.
• Increased confidence in being able to help patients navigate pathways between primary care, IAPT, acute trusts, and secondary mental healthcare services.
• An introduction to promoting mental wellbeing in patients.