Change has been a constant companion for Coral in recent times.

The Lincoln resident is adapting to life without her husband of 60 years and a daughter who passed away last December.

Coral has also relocated, which is another of life’s stressful events.  To help make her life easier and less confusing, changes have been made to her medication schedule.

Coral is one of many Cantabrians to benefit from a free Medication Therapy Assessment (MTA), where MTA-accredited pharmacists and general practitioners work alongside patients on complex medicines to optimise their medications in line with their goals of care.  

At Selwyn Community Pharmacy, Shirin Namjou is the pharmacist who’s been guiding Coral through the MTA process.

Coral was keen to “cut out some of the pills” and that’s been enabled via the MTA.

“We’ve been able to remove some medications that Coral no longer required and slowly reduce the dosage on others,” says Shirin.

Coral says “this has made it a lot easier for me.”

In Canterbury, pharmacists work closely with the rest of a person’s healthcare team to keep people well and out of hospital.

MTAs are a recent extension of Canterbury’s Medication Management Service (MMS) which the Canterbury Community Pharmacy Group (CCPG) has been successfully running for the past 5 years. 

Gareth Frew, Clinical Leader for CCPG, said: “MTA is one of the ways Canterbury pharmacists can work collaboratively with general practitioners to provide a greater level of patient-centred care.”

Lincoln GP Lauren Antley who was involved in Coral’s MTA and several others, says “every time I’ve been involved in the assessment service I’ve been really impressed by the quality of information I’ve received and the thoroughness of the service.”

She says that in Coral’s case the pharmacist also looked at recent blood test results and was able to identify a medicine that could lead to worsening symptoms.

Lauren says another advantage of an MTA is that it can be conducted in a person’s home which can highlight other medical or welfare issues needing attention.

“We have an ageing population and in a 15 minute consult there is often not the opportunity to conduct a full medicinal review, so the MTA provides that opportunity for a good and thorough work-through.”

Shirin Namjou says Selwyn Community Pharmacy will continue to check with Coral how well she is managing with her new medication schedule.

Shirin, who has extensive work experience in both hospital and community settings, finds the MTA process rewarding.

“It’s that connection between pharmacy, GP and patient – a caring and holistic approach which can only be beneficial for all.”

It’s certainly been beneficial for our spritely octogenarian who’s keen to keep playing bowls and living independently.

With medication issues contributing significantly to the number of people ending up in hospital and aged care, the outcome for people’s quality of life can be significant.

• For more information about the Medication Management Service, which includes the Medicines Use Review and the Medicines Therapy Assessment, visit the CCPG website.