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What is the MR-CAT, and who developed it?

The medicines related consultation assessment tool (MR-CAT) is a new global assessment tool designed for use by healthcare professionals to assess pharmacy professionals' consultations.

It was developed by the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE), which has led the development and delivery of consultation skills training programmes for all pharmacy professionals across England since 2014.

What came before the MR-CAT?

MR-CAT's predecessor was the Medication Related Consultation Framework (MRCF), which was developed in 2011. Consultation skills have moved on since then - there is now a greater emphasis on person-centred care and shared decision making.

A review by Da Costa et al confirmed that the MRCF does not satisfy the multi-faceted elements of a true person-centred consultation. To address the lack of a suitable, pharmacy-specific consultation assessment tool, CPPE developed the MR-CAT.

CPPE's team used the Consultation skills for pharmacy practice: practice standards for England to inform the MR-CAT's design. These standards were developed by CPPE and Health Education England in 2014. CPPE has now replaced the MRCF with the MR-CAT across its consultation programmes.

More on the practice standards for England

The Consultation skills for pharmacy practice: practice standards for England are based on the Royal College of General Practitioners' (RCGP) framework, and were designed to help integrate pharmacy with other healthcare professions. They set out the knowledge, skills, behaviours and attitudes that pharmacy professionals need to communicate and consult. Reflection on the standards can help you to identify where to improve.

In addition to practice standards, assessment and feedback are key for conceptualising good and excellent consultation skills and behaviours. Validated assessment tools like the MR-CAT help identify the competence of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians as they move into more clinical roles.

How should I assess my consultation skills?

There are several approaches you can take to assess your practice. How to use the MR-CAT e-learning ⤴ outlines how you can use the MR-CAT for both self-assessment and as an observed assessment tool. Both of these approaches will assist in your development.