Bone Abstracts

Background: As medicines experts, pharmacists prioritise medicines optimisation through patient centred care and shared decision making. It takes 5 years education and training to register, with increasing exposure to experiential learning, traversing multiple patient care settings, culminating in a final year work placement.¹ Pharmacists encounter patients throughout their bone health journey with opportunities for active health promotion and early stage preventative interventions within primary care settings such as community pharmacy and GP practice onto patient education, clinical decision making and ongoing management within secondary and intermediary care, looping back to primary care for long term management through the Discharge Medicines Service (DMS) and other activities including GP Structured Medication Reviews (SMR) and Medicines Optimisation in Care Homes (MOCH) or domiciliary settings (MODS). East Sussex over 65 population is 25 percent greater than national average² implying potential higher local demand for prevention interventions, highlighting value in encouraging development of bone health curiosity and prioritisation within early careers pharmacy learners undertaking routine consultation skills, raising the profile and sharing of Royal Osteoporosis Society resources whilst enabling increased patient awareness of bone health risks.

Methods: Two Sussex based, secondary care Education and development lead pharmacists, hosting MPharm experiential placements and trainee pharmacists, focussed their post graduate prescribing in osteoporosis 2024-25, undertaking prescribing hours within Fracture Liaison Service (FLS). They explored opportunities for onward learning cascade during pharmacist initial education and post registration continuing professional development.

Results: Supported by FLS nurses, a pan-Sussex pharmacist education event occurred raising awareness of osteoporosis and local management pathways. Increased pharmacist knowledge supports higher levels of osteoporosis related interventions within intermediary care, avoiding missed doses or inadvertent discontinuation of therapy, whilst shadowing learners are showing increased curiosity around bone health. Undergraduate placement task design expanded to include bisphosphonate adherence.

Conclusion: Falls and fracture prevention as a scope of practice for pharmacists within routine medicines optimisation, prescribing, deprescribing and patient education could be prioritised for pharmacy learners. Pharmacist activities across all settings should align with the local FLS with a shared agenda ensuring synergy of bone health management across the neighbourhood health footprint.

1. https://assets.pharmacyregulation.org/files/2024-01/Standards%20for%20the %20initial%20education%20and%20training%20of%20pharmacists%20January%202021%20final%20v1.4.pdf (last accessed 05/07/2026)

2. https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/censusareachanges/E07000061/ (last accessed 05/07/2026)