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Pharmaceutical Medicine focusses on safe prescribing practices and the safe and appropriate development of medicines, including pharmaceuticals and medical products. This field is involved in monitoring the quality of medicines, including their development, clinical trials, and product information, seeking to provide evidence-based evaluations of their benefits and risks and providing expert advice to all stakeholders. It provides analysis and reporting of exploratory clinical trials, and facilitates the collection of qualitative data and feedback, making recommendations on the safe and effective use of medicines. Pharmaceutical Medicine is not a clinical specialty, rather it relates to medicine development, Pharmacoeconomics, and upholding regulatory and ethical frameworks for the development and provision of medicines and medical products.

Pharmaceutical Medicine Jobs

Pharmaceutical physicians work with multi-disciplinary teams during the development of medicines, and in monitoring their safe and appropriate use. They are involved in generating, analysing, evaluating and reporting on scientific and clinical data. They make recommendations and give expert advice on the safety and efficacy of medicines and medical products, their design and development, benefits and risks, and their application. They monitor the accuracy of ‘product information’ - for both old and new medicines - including ‘Product Characteristics (SmPC)’ and the ‘Patient Information Leaflet (PIL).’ They gather and provide information and feedback to all stakeholders involved in medicine development, including those involved in their clinical use, regulation, commercialisation and licensing. They support patients in obtaining timely access to medicines, and may be involved in investigating adverse events, or monitoring ethical conduct during clinical trials. Pharmaceutical Physicians do not generally work in clinical settings, but in research, public health, industry, commercial and/or advisory settings. To work in this field, doctors complete foundation and core training, followed by Pharmaceutical Medicine Specialty Training, which can be entered from ST3 and takes an indicative 4 years to complete, leading to a Diploma in Pharmaceutical medicine, a CCT and entry on to the GMC specialist register.