Problem: pharmacy letters sprawl across every medicine ever taken — the reader drowns in drug histories while the actual question hides. Answer in brief: one 4-paragraph skeleton (purpose, medicines that matter, issue and reasoning, request) plus two templates: community-pharmacy referral and post-discharge reconciliation. This guide teaches both templates with a worked reconciliation letter, and OET Writing for Pharmacists — Course 1 trains the skeleton across 12 topic sections.
The master 4-paragraph skeleton
P1 purpose: patient, medicines issue, question — two lines. P2 medicines that matter: only drugs relevant to the issue, with doses and adherence (“takes amlodipine 5 mg daily; admits missing weekend doses”). P3 issue and reasoning: interaction, duplication, adherence gap or error — with evidence and clinical consequence. P4 request: the precise pharmacy or prescriber action with timeframe. The skeleton’s discipline is exclusion: every omitted irrelevant medicine strengthens the letter.
Template A: community-pharmacy referral
Concern observed at the counter (side effects, confusion, adherence signals, OTC risks) → medicines that matter with adherence honesty → reasoning linking concern to cause → request to GP or specialist (review, switch, monitor). Counter observations are valid clinical evidence — “daughter reports missed evening doses” belongs in the letter, attributed. The question often concerns regimen simplification: propose it, do not merely hint.
Train both templates supervised? The full OET Writing for Pharmacists — Course 1 teaches the master skeleton with community-referral and reconciliation templates across 12 topic sections with 44 lessons and mock tests. Explore the course →
Template B: post-discharge reconciliation
Three lists, reconciled: pre-admission medicines, discharge medicines, and the differences with reasons (stopped, started, dose-changed — each explained: “atorvastatin 80 mg started post-MI; previous simvastatin 20 mg discontinued”). Then adherence risks (new inhaler technique? blister pack needed?) and the monitoring request. Unexplained differences are the letter’s core work — enumerate every change or state explicitly there were none.
Worked example: reconciliation after heart-failure discharge
Fictional case, newly written: Mrs Lindqvist, 74, discharged after heart-failure decompensation; pre-admission: ramipril 5 mg, bisoprolol 2.5 mg, simvastatin 20 mg; discharge: ramipril 10 mg, bisoprolol 5 mg, spironolactone 25 mg (new), atorvastatin 80 mg (replacing simvastatin), furosemide 40 mg (new); mild confusion about which tablets changed; lives alone.
Shape: purpose (reconciliation with adherence concern). P2: the two lists compressed with doses. P3: differences explained — uptitrations toward target doses, spironolactone and furosemide additions for fluid control, statin switch for intensity — plus confusion evidence. P4: “I would appreciate GP review of the new regimen within one week with a blister-pack assessment; she will bring all packs.” Every change accounted — roughly 185 words.
Four pharmacy-letter mistakes
- Complete drug histories. Fix: relevant medicines only — the skeleton’s P2 is a filter.
- Unexplained changes. Fix: every difference gets a reason or an explicit “no change” statement.
- Adherence hints. Fix: state adherence evidence plainly with source.
- Questionless endings. Fix: name the review, switch or monitoring request with timeframe.
FAQs
Must every dose appear?
For relevant medicines, yes — with units and frequency. Doses are the pharmacist’s numbers; omitting them surrenders professional authority.
Do OTC and herbal medicines belong?
When relevant to the issue (interactions, bleeding risk, adherence burden) — one line with the concern named. Otherwise excluded by the skeleton’s discipline.
What is in the course?
Twelve topic sections on the master skeleton with community-referral and reconciliation templates, 44 lessons and 5 complete mock tests.
The matching course
OET Writing for Pharmacists — Course 1 installs pharmacy thinking on paper: the 4-paragraph skeleton, community referrals, post-discharge reconciliation — 12 topic sections, 44 lessons, 5 mock tests. If your letters list everything and ask nothing, train here.
Sources and note
- OET Writing format per the official OET site: oet.com — Writing. Regimens above are illustrative fiction; follow local protocols in practice and current OET guidance for the exam.
- Course details verified from its public staging page (read-only): 12 topic sections, 44 lessons, 5 mock tests.
- Case and letter lines are newly written and fictional; other valid structures exist.
Put this into practice
Compare these course outlines and choose the practice that matches your next goal.
