Clinical Pharmacists and Pharmacist Prescribers
WellSouth’s clinical pharmacist team is an important part of your healthcare team. Find out about the different clinical support we can provide.
Office Based Clinical Pharmacist
Our office-based clinical pharmacists work closely with primary care providers—especially those without a pharmacist embedded in their practice—to support safer, more effective use of medications across our communities. This role helps improve health outcomes by offering clinical expertise, supporting quality improvement initiatives, and enhancing equitable access to care.
Key Support Provided:
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Clinical medication advice: Supporting general practices with complex medication queries and therapeutic guidance.
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Complex medication reviews: Conducting comprehensive, patient-centred medication reviews in collaboration with the wider healthcare team.
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Education and training: Developing and delivering medicine information resources, peer groups, and CME sessions for health professionals.
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Quality improvement activities: Leading and supporting medication-related audits and initiatives aimed at improving prescribing safety and effectiveness.
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WellSouth programme input: Contributing pharmacy expertise to wider WellSouth projects and clinical service development.
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Internal support: Offering expert advice to fellow WellSouth clinicians and contributing to the continuous improvement of services.
Our clinical pharmacists uphold the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and prioritise culturally safe, equity-focused care.
Want to get in touch?
For general enquiries or support with quality improvement, email: pharmacists@wellsouth.org.nz
For individual patient referrals, please use ERMS and including a reason for referral.
Click here to hear what our office-based clinical pharmacists offer.
Practice Based Clinical Pharmacists
The Clinical Pharmacist is based in a particular medical centre/s as an integral part of the primary care team to provide clinical guidance, assistance and support around medication, with a focus on reducing inequities and working with priority populations.
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Advise and support whānau understanding and experience of medication treatment, how it can affect their health and wellbeing – including lifestyle, impacts on adherence, and issues that may occur with administering medications,
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Undertake individual complex medication reviews to optimise medicine use for a patient,
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Provide a medication information resource for the clinical team,
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Contribute to improved population health by providing inhouse education, bulletins and quality improvement activities within the medical centre.
Practice Based Clinical Pharmacists – Pharmacist Prescriber
Some of our clinical pharmacists are also prescribing pharmacists who support the management of long-term conditions through initiation, titration, continuation of prescribed treatments or deprescribing. The Clinical Pharmacist Prescriber is an advanced pharmacy role to promote health, prevent disease, treat known diagnosis, assess and manage people’s health needs. It includes prescribing in a supportive environment to increase the capability and capacity of the practice team and overall aims to:
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Improve healthcare access to the practice population,
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Support new models of care,
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Provide convenient healthcare service,
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Promote and develop interdisciplinary teamwork keeping the patient in the centre of care,
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Build on existing skills and knowledge within the centre,
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Take accountability for prescribing decisions based on diagnosed long-term and common conditions.
Population Health Pharmacists
Population Health Pharmacists work alongside the Primary Care Pharmacist team to identify and address disparities in the uptake of medicines by Māori, Pacific and other underserved communities in Southern. The purpose of this role is to work collaboratively with all providers including Māori and Pacific health providers, nursing staff, General Practitioners, community pharmacy, allied health services, communities, and appropriate secondary specialist health services to work towards achieving equitable health outcomes for Māori and Pacific people in Otago and Southland.
In addition, they will assist the clinical pharmacy team in the analysis and improvement of prescribing practices across primary care where issues have been identified as contributing to inequities, inappropriate prescribing and sub-optimal health outcomes.
The pharmacists improve health outcomes for individuals, families/whānau and communities by working in partnership to inform, support Māori and Pacific people to self-manage, plan for and implement appropriate health care changes.
Find out more, email pharmacists@wellsouth.org.nz to discuss how we can help.