A laptop login is only one part of remote pharmacist induction. The pharmacist also needs to understand how your practice allocates work, records decisions and responds when something cannot be completed remotely.
Use this as a working checklist for your practice or PCN. The NHS operational sources below concern England; practices elsewhere should use their own national and local arrangements. It does not replace your recruitment checks or clinical policies.
1. Write down the work and its limits
Give the pharmacist a short role brief covering the practices supported, session times, duties and patient groups. Record any prescribing responsibilities and work excluded from the assignment. Confirm who has checked registration, relevant experience, indemnity and suitability through your recruitment process.
GPhC standards require pharmacy professionals to recognise the limits of their knowledge and skills and seek help when needed. Make that possible in practice: ask the pharmacist to identify unfamiliar tasks before allocating a full session, then agree induction or support for them.
Sources: GPhC: standards for pharmacy professionals
2. Arrange and test individual system access
List the clinical record, consultation, messaging and prescribing systems needed for the agreed role. Assign an IT or access contact and test the complete login process before patient work starts. Familiarity with a product does not demonstrate that this practice’s permissions and workflows are ready.
Where NHS Care Identity is used, the Registration Authority manages the relevant access permissions. NHS guidance prohibits sharing a smartcard or its passcode. A colleague’s credentials are not a temporary solution to missing access. Record the support contact and the agreed action if access fails.
3. Confirm the workspace and approved tools
Confirm the agreed equipment, connection, telephone or video setup and private working space. NHS England’s remote-consulting guidance calls for a quiet, confidential consulting area. Its remote-working guidance also addresses secure communication and protecting information on devices.
Ask the practice’s information-governance or IT contact to explain local rules on downloads, printing, personal devices and incident reporting. Agree which tools the pharmacist should use, so they do not have to improvise. Check that help can be reached without the main clinical system, including during a connection failure.
Sources: NHS England: remote consulting · NHS England: Microsoft Teams and remote working
4. Use a short induction tracker
The table below is our suggested checklist for practices. It is not an NHS form. Add a named owner, due date and completion note for each item. A task marked “requested” remains open until the person responsible confirms it works.
Use the induction pack builder to bring the agreed contacts, systems, work allocation and handover arrangements together. Select pharmacists and remote working, then check the finished pack with the people delivering the session.
| Item | Suggested owner | Evidence of readiness |
|---|---|---|
| Role and session brief | Clinical lead | Pharmacist has discussed duties, limits and expected support. |
| System access | IT or access lead | Pharmacist has tested their own authorised access to the required systems. |
| Work allocation | Practice coordinator | Both parties know where tasks arrive and how priorities are agreed. |
| Clinical support | Named clinical contact | Availability, contact method and backup contact are confirmed. |
| Handover | Receiving team member | Outstanding work has an agreed destination and receiving owner. |
| Session review | Clinical lead and pharmacist | Time is booked to review access, workload and remaining induction needs. |
5. Walk through a task from allocation to completion
Use an approved training environment or an appropriate supervised demonstration to show where work arrives, how it is assigned and how completion is recorded. Explain local terminology, templates and communication routes. Include reception and administrative colleagues where their work connects with the pharmacist’s.
Agree an initial workload that allows time for questions and documentation. Define what happens when a task falls outside the brief, information is missing or an in-person assessment is needed. The pharmacist should know who takes the next action and how to contact them during that session.
6. Make support available during the session
Introduce the named clinical contact and a backup. Specify how urgent concerns differ from routine questions and how the pharmacist should raise each under local policy. An unread group message should not be the only way to obtain timely help.
For pharmacists on CPPE’s Primary care pharmacy education pathway, use the handbook for their cohort and agree the required workplace supervision. CPPE publishes different handbook arrangements for cohorts starting from September 2026. Completing a locum induction checklist has no bearing on training or ARRS funding eligibility.
Sources: CPPE: current Primary care pharmacy education pathway handbooks
7. Agree handover before there is anything to hand over
Set a handover time and destination. For each unfinished item, record what remains, who is receiving it and any timing already agreed through the practice’s process. Check receipt when responsibility passes between people. Keep this within the approved record or communication system.
At the end of the first session, ask what delayed work and what was unclear. Record changes to access, task allocation or support before the next session. When the assignment ends, arrange removal of local access that is no longer needed, without disrupting the pharmacist’s authorised work elsewhere.
A first-session problem worth rehearsing
Suppose the pharmacist can open the clinical record but cannot access the agreed task queue. In this illustrative example, the practice coordinator contacts the access lead, keeps unallocated work with the receiving team and agrees whether any suitable induction activity can continue. Nobody borrows a colleague’s login or assumes the queue is being cleared.
Rehearse that response before the first booking: who notices, who can fix it and who owns the work meanwhile? The same questions help when a connection drops or a named support contact becomes unavailable.
Common questions
Can an experienced pharmacist skip local induction?
Experience can change the depth of induction, but the pharmacist still needs your access, workflows, contacts and handover arrangements. Agree what can be demonstrated quickly and what needs further support.
Is a smartcard enough to begin work?
No. The relevant permissions, systems and local processes must also be ready. Test the pharmacist’s own authorised access and resolve gaps through the appropriate access team.
Who owns tasks left at the end of a session?
Agree this before work starts. Name the receiving person or team, use the practice’s handover process and check that outstanding items have been received.
Does this checklist confirm a booking?
No. It helps a practice prepare for an agreed assignment. Availability, suitability, pay and booking terms must still be confirmed through the recruitment process.
Official sources
Sources checked . Requirements can differ by country, employer and role; use the current guidance relevant to the work.
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