MUROnline is an ambitious project with the stated objective of increasing the amount of quality MUR delivered in England and Wales. It stemmed from what seemed like an innocuous conversation I had with Mr. Kaderbhai (1) in 2006 about the frustrations some employers were having in engaging pharmacists to deliver the MUR component of the new pharmacy contract. This conversation coincided with my search for a flagship project to launch my company, Iforg Limited, into the realm of project management. This project highlights one of the main reasons why the company was formed in the first place (2). The project was code named: Bedfordshire in line with the company's project nomenclature.

There was no way I could achieve this project on my own, so I called on the resources of my talented colleagues. The project team comprised of Jagjiwan Khela, Perveen Bhardwaj, Cyril Siou and Richard Andoh (Pic. 1). All these guys bring something unique to the table and it has been a great pleasure to work with them.

It is obvious that the new contract put some extra demands on us as professionals. We believe that some of the skills required to fulfil these extra demands does not necessarily come to us naturally. We also believe that there were some valid concerns around how the service was introduced. All these issues have been well documented in the Pharmaceutical Journal. You only have to search the letters to the editor's pages to see how MUR polarizes opinions.

We decided to start on a clean canvass. If we analyzed what we have been asked to do, then it is without a doubt that the patients (or customer) is at the centre. If we are medicines experts, then our input can help the customer gain the most out of their medicines. This does not replace the GP's input but seek to complement it. If this is true, then this is why we are pharmacists and we must be pivotal in making it work for the patient.

The first key component underpinning this project is the concept of an MUR Evangelist. We may disagree with the different ways to deliver MUR but we must first agree that MUR is a worthwhile service designed to help our customers get the most from their medications. We believe that you can only make an effective change on how the service is delivered from the inside. The process of being an MUR evangelist is simple. You need to agree with the 4-point pledge(3).

Now that you are an MUR Evangelist, you can start to use a number of the other components of the project. This is in fact a community of pharmacists who want to help the customer or patient gain the best use from their medication and are willing to exchange opinions privately, publicly and sometimes anonymously. We have packed this project with a lot of tools which we are very proud of. We ask you to join us in our quest to make a difference to patient care in England and Wales. You may listen to a series of 3-podcasts on Iforg Limited website, which introduces the project(4).

...and we are not done! Users can request changes or request additional services on the site as is necessary. If enough people request the change, then we have no choice but to make it happen. We are democratic in our outlook and you can shape this project as it goes forward from here. When used strategically, we think you can use this site to further your professional careers. The team and I hope you enjoy the facilities that this site has to offer.

Kazeem Olalekan MRPharmS, MSc(BIT), DipPharmPrac, MBCS
Project Manager { Bedfordshire }