Clinical pharmacy service for GP federations
Clinical pharmacy service for GP federations
What the service covers
Our GP federation clinical pharmacy service gives a federation one managed clinical pharmacy service across its member practices. The federation agrees the workstreams, the protocol and the reporting once. Our clinical team delivers the work inside each practice’s own clinical system, codes every action on the record and reports to the federation for each practice, each PCN and the whole footprint.
Federations bring practices together to work at scale. A clinical pharmacy service run the same way keeps one clinical standard in every member practice, whatever its list size or clinical system.
- Structured medication reviews and polypharmacy reviews, including counted blocks across member practices
- High-risk drug monitoring and MHRA safety alert searches, worked patient by patient
- Repeat and acute prescription requests and medicines queries
- Prescription signing by our independent prescribers
- Reconciliation of hospital discharge and clinic letters
- Medicines-related QOF work across the year
- Prescribing schemes and switch programmes run across participating practices
- Searches and patient lists built once and run in every practice
- Reporting for the federation board, each PCN and each practice
Who does the work
The work is carried out by our clinical team: more than 100 GPhC-registered pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working under one clinical governance framework. 85% of the pharmacists are independent prescribers, so many changes can be completed within their competence and the agreed protocol.
Technicians take the work that suits them, such as searches and reconciliation, so pharmacist time goes to clinical review. The same core team stays with the federation’s work and learns each practice’s protocols, systems and patients, so the tenth practice receives the same method as the first.
How it works day to day
- We agree the workstreams, the shared protocol and the reporting with the federation’s clinical and operational leads.
- Each member practice agrees access and its escalation route to its own GPs.
- We size the volume for each practice, so a large list and a small one both get what they need.
- Our team works remotely in EMIS, SystmOne, Vision or Medicus and codes every action in the practice’s own record as it goes.
- Anything that needs a GP goes through that practice’s agreed route, with the reason recorded.
- The federation receives one report for the whole footprint, with the detail for each PCN and each practice.
- We manage cover for leave and sickness, with continuity arrangements agreed for each participating practice.
A managed service, not extra headcount
The federation commissions a defined workload, and we deliver it under our own clinical governance. The method, the clinical supervision, the quality checks and the cover all sit with us. There is nothing for the federation to recruit, supervise or cover, and member practices keep every decision that needs a GP.
For a federation board, that means one agreement, one clinical standard and one report across member practices, in place of separate arrangements made practice by practice. The same service can start with one workstream in a few practices and widen as the federation decides.
What our clinical team has delivered
Our published results come from work commissioned by GP practices and PCNs. They show one method run to one standard across many practices, which is how a federation service works:
- Lincolnshire, nine-practice PCN: 315 hours of medication reviews in a first block, delivered to one pathway across all nine practices. The PCN then moved to a full-year contract covering the whole network.
- Norfolk and Waveney PCN: 1,000 structured medication reviews delivered, alongside a technician service, all under one governance.
- Somerset PCN: a 287-hour block of medication reviews, followed by an extension.
We have supported 375+ GP practices and 88+ PCNs, with practices and PCNs in 23 ICB areas across all seven NHS regions. Ask and we will arrange a reference call with a PCN doing similar work. Read the case studies.
Governance and data security
Virtual Pharmacist meets the NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit standards for 2025-26, holds Cyber Essentials certification and is registered with the ICO (ZB127110). All work is done inside each member practice’s own clinical system through secure, NHS-approved access. Read our clinical governance and data security framework.
Virtual Pharmacist won the Pharmacy Solutions Provider award at the General Practice Awards.
Related services and reading
- PCN pharmacist services
- Clinical pharmacist services
- ICB medicines optimisation support
- Clinical pharmacy for integrated neighbourhood teams
- Medicines optimisation
- Structured medication reviews in 2026
- How to choose a GP or PCN clinical pharmacist provider
- Outsourced and in-house clinical pharmacy compared
One protocol for every practice
Searches and patient lists built once and run in each member practice.
Medication reviews at scale
Structured and polypharmacy reviews, including counted blocks.
High-risk monitoring and alerts
MHRA safety alert searches worked patient by patient.
Prescription requests and queries
Repeat and acute requests handled to your protocol, with prescription signing by our independent prescribers.
Schemes and switch programmes
Run across participating practices.
Reporting for the board
For the federation board, each PCN and each practice.
“The team is consistently reliable. Phones are always answered and emails come back the same day. It’s made a real difference to how we run our medication reviews.”
“Fast email replies and clinical input whenever we need it. They picked up our medicines work seamlessly and delivered from day one.”
“Excellent service from start to finish. Easy to reach, quick to reply, and they clearly know NHS workflows inside out. We couldn’t recommend the team more highly.”
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a GP federation clinical pharmacy service?
It is a managed service that delivers clinical pharmacy work across a federation's member practices under the provider's own clinical governance. With Virtual Pharmacist, the federation agrees the workstreams and the standard once, and we deliver and report on the work in every participating practice.
Can one service cover practices in several PCNs?
Yes. The same protocol runs in every participating practice, whichever PCN it belongs to, with reporting for each practice, each PCN and the federation as a whole.
How is the work reported to the federation?
The federation receives one report in one format, covering patients reviewed, changes made and items passed to GPs, with the detail for each PCN and practice underneath. We agree the format with the federation's leads at the start.
Can member practices use different clinical systems?
Yes. We work in EMIS, SystmOne, Vision and Medicus, and one federation can use a mix of them. Access is arranged with each practice through its existing systems.
Who decides what the pharmacists can change?
The federation agrees the shared protocol, and each practice agrees its escalation route. 85% of our pharmacists are independent prescribers and can make changes within their competence and that protocol. Anything outside it goes to the practice's GP with the reason recorded.
Can we start with one workstream?
Yes. Many networks start with a counted block, such as a set number of structured medication reviews, then extend it or widen it to more workstreams and more practices.
How does this fit with neighbourhood health plans?
The Neighbourhood Health Framework, published by DHSC and NHS England in March 2026, works on the assumption that a multi-neighbourhood provider would cover a population of around 250,000 or more, with sizes not set nationally. A federation planning medicines work at that scale can run this service across the wider footprint. See our page on clinical pharmacy for integrated neighbourhood teams.
How is this different from recruiting pharmacists?
With a service, the provider delivers the agreed workload under its own governance, and cover for leave or sickness sits with the provider. With recruitment, the federation hires, supervises and covers the roles itself.
