{"id":1510,"date":"2025-12-04T11:48:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T11:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk\/nhs-highland\/pages\/pharmacy-services\/core-services\/medicine-care-and-review\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T14:38:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T13:38:54","slug":"medicine-care-and-review","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk\/nhs-highland\/pages\/pharmacy-services\/core-services\/medicine-care-and-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Medicine Care and Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Service specification <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Medicines: Care and Review (MCR) service is an NHS Scotland initiative designed to help people with long-term conditions manage their medicines more effectively. It replaced the previous Chronic Medication Service (CMS) and is available through community pharmacies across Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>MCR is a voluntary service for patients who:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Are registered with a GP in Scotland.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Receive regular prescriptions for a long-term condition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Register with a single community pharmacy of their choice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How does it work?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The service has three main components:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Medication Review<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your pharmacist reviews how you use your medicines.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They discuss any problems, side effects, or concerns you have.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This helps identify what your carte plan looks like. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Care Plan<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A personalised plan to support you in managing your medicines.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Includes actions for you and your pharmacist, and records progress.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your pharmacist may share relevant information with your GP.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regular reviews ensure the plan stays up to date. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Serial Prescriptions<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Long-term prescriptions issued by your GP for 24, 48, or 56 weeks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Allows you to collect medicines directly from your pharmacy without contacting your GP each time.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Collection intervals (e.g., every 4 or 8 weeks) are agreed with your GP.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your pharmacist monitors supply and informs your GP of any issues. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Improved understanding of your medicines.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Better adherence and fewer problems with side effects.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Convenience: fewer GP visits for repeat prescriptions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhanced safety: pharmacists can identify risks and intervene early. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&nbsp;Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The resources for the Medicines: Care and Review (MCR) service are primarily available through official NHS Scotland and community pharmacy websites. Here are the key sources you can use:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Official NHS Scotland Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>NHS Inform:<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhsinform.scot\/care-support-and-rights\/nhs-services\/pharmacy\/medicines-care-and-review-service\">Medicines: Care and Review Service<\/a><\/strong><strong><br>This page explains what MCR is, who can access it, and how it works.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Community Pharmacy Scotland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cps.scot\/medicines-care-and-review\">Community Pharmacy Scotland \u2013 MCR Overview<\/a><br>Provides details on the service, benefits, and pharmacy involvement.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Professional Guidance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>NHS Scotland Pharmacy Services pages often include downloadable patient leaflets, FAQs, and training resources for staff.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"nhsuk-card__description\">Service specification The Medicines: Care and Review (MCR) service is an NHS Scotland initiative designed to help people with long-term [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"parent":1479,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1510","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk\/nhs-highland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk\/nhs-highland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk\/nhs-highland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk\/nhs-highland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk\/nhs-highland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1510"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk\/nhs-highland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2114,"href":"https:\/\/www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk\/nhs-highland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1510\/revisions\/2114"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk\/nhs-highland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.communitypharmacy.scot.nhs.uk\/nhs-highland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}