Dr Margaret (Mags) Watson has recently been awarded a highly prestigious 3-year Health Foundation Improvement Science Fellowship (£277,536). She is the first Scotland-based researcher to be awarded this Fellowship.
The title of the Fellowship is "Patient- and public-involvement (PPI) in developing quality improvement standards, indicators and measures for community pharmacy practice".
The management of minor illness (acute consultations) in community pharmacies increases capacity within the NHS and has the potential to reduce the burden of inappropriate consultations in emergency departments and general practices. This research will used mixed methods to explore methods of optimising community pharmacy practice in terms of the management of these conditions.
Dr Watson will adopt a patient-/public-involvement (PPI) approach to the development of quality standards, indicators and measures for the community pharmacy-based management of acute consultations with the purpose of defining, measuring and improving existing practice. PPI would occur in tandem with community pharmacy personnel. This research will contribute to improvement science by:
- creating evidence-based quality standards of practice that reflects patient/public needs;
- exploring community pharmacy personnel engagement with quality improvement and improvement science;
- comparing quality standards derived by two different PPI methods.
“The fellowship will enable me to maximise the contribution that community pharmacy can make to healthcare service delivery and patient benefit, including greater patient empowerment to engage in the self-management of their health, with anticipated improved health outcomes and greater quality of life.”