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 Medicine, 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 and deprescribing
Polypharmacy
Clinical reasoning and diagnosis
Pharmaceuticals and the environment
Health service re-design
Professionalism

Collaborations

We're 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.

Our work is regularly featured in high quality journals, including BMJ Open, British Journal of General Practice, International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, Journal of Evaluative and Clinical Practice, International Journal of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmacy Education.

Publication highlights

Risk reduction intervention for raised blood pressure (REVERSE): protocol for a mixed-methods feasibility study

Hives, L., Georgiou, R. F., Spencer, J., Benedetto, V., Clegg, A., Rutter, P., Watkins, C., Williams, N., and Bray, E. P. (2023) "Risk reduction intervention for raised blood pressure (REVERSE): protocol for a mixed-methods feasibility study", BMJ Open
Characterising risk of non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory drug related acute kidney injury: a retrospective cohort study

Lin, S. X., Phillips, T., Culliford, D., Edwards, C., Holroyd, C., Ibrahim, K., Barrett, R., Howard, C., Johnson, R., Adams, J., Stammers, M., Rischin, A., Rutter, P., Barnes, N., Roderick, P., and Fraser, S. D. (2022) "Characterising risk of non-steroidal-anti-inflammatory drug related acute kidney injury: a retrospective cohort study", BJGP Open
Price versus clinical guidelines in primary care statin prescribing: a retrospective cohort study and cost simulation model

Ortiz De Zarate, M., Mentazakis, E., Fraser, S. D. S., Roderick, P., Rutter, P., and Ornaghi, C. (2022) "Price versus clinical guidelines in primary care statin prescribing: a retrospective cohort study and cost simulation model", Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, inequitable vaccine distribution, and implications for COVID-19 control in sub-Saharan Africa

Murewanhema, G., Dzinamarira, T., Chingombe, I., Mapingure, M. P., Mukwenha, S., Chitungo, I., Herrera, H., Madziva, R., Ngwenya, S., and Musuka, G. N. (2022), "Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, inequitable vaccine distribution, and implications for COVID-19 control in sub-Saharan Africa", COVID

Project highlights

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

Pharmacy Practice Research Group

We're researching projects centred around two main areas – undergraduate education and pharmacy practice.

Interested in a PhD in Pharmacy, Pharmacology and Biomedical Sciences?

Browse our postgraduate research degrees – including PhDs and MPhils – at our Pharmacy, Pharmacology and Biomedical Sciences postgraduate research degrees page.