2.2.3 Pharmacist prescribing Flashcards
Who is able to prescribe?
Healthcare professionals who have completed an accredited prescribing course and registered their qualification with their regulatory body are able to prescribe. These can include pharmacists, nurses, midwives and others.
What is an IP?
An independent prescriber (IP) is a prescribing healthcare professional who is responsible and accountable for the assessment of patients with undiagnosed or diagnosed conditions and for decisions about the clinical management required, including prescribing.
What is an SP?
A supplementary prescriber (SP) is a practitioner who prescribes within an agreed patient-specific written clinical management plan, agreed in partnership with a doctor or dentist.
Further information on what an IP or SP can prescribe can be found in section 3.3.14. IPs/SPs should restrict prescribing to their areas of clinical competence.
The GPhC Standards for the Initial Education and Training of Pharmacists (January 2021) incorporate the skills, knowledge and attributes for prescribing to enable pharmacists to independently prescribe from the point of registration. Details can be found in the GPhC standards at www.pharmacyregulation.org.
RPS prescribing guidance
RPS has published helpful guidance on prescribing for aspiring and qualified pharmacist prescribers. Click on ‘prescribing’ at the top of the RPS website www.rpharms.com. You can find support and guidance on the following:
Becoming a prescriber Aspiring pharmacist prescribers will find guidance on how to become a safe and confident prescriber, decide on your scope of practice and find a designated prescribing practitioner (DPP)
Working as a prescriber Guidance on prescribing safely and competently, including support with ethical scenarios you may face in practice, guidance on expanding or changing your scope of practice and support with returning to prescribing practice
Develop your prescribing practice Frameworks and resources to help support your prescribing.
A Competency Framework for all Prescribers (see appendix 1) sets out what?
sets out what good prescribing looks like. It describes the demonstrable knowledge, skills, characteristics, qualities and behaviours for a safe and effective prescribing role. Its implementation and maintenance are important in informing and improving practice, development, standard of care and safety (for both the prescriber and patient). It can be used by any prescriber at any point in their career to underpin their professional responsibility for prescribing.
Who does a Competency Framework for Designated Prescribing Practitioners (see appendix 2) support?
Supports experienced IPs to be effective DPPs by outlining the skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviours required to help train safe and effective non-medical prescribers during their period of learning in practice (PLP). The framework helps programme providers, employing organisations, trainees and experienced prescribers to understand the expectations for a DPP through competency descriptors.
What is the The Professional Guidance: Expanding Prescribing Scope of Practice (see appendix 3) for?
The Professional Guidance: Expanding Prescribing Scope of Practice (see appendix 3) is for healthcare professionals wanting to expand their ‘prescribing scope of practice’. It provides a structure to support prescribers to identify their developmental needs, highlights ways in which these needs can be met and offers guidance on how to document the process and outcome. A number of case studies across a range of professions and settings are provided to illustrate the process.
This document is intended to be used alongside the RPS prescribing competency framework (appendix 1), which describes the knowledge, skills, behaviours, activities and outcomes that a prescriber should demonstrate.
FURTHER READING
Royal Pharmaceutical Society
A Competency Framework for all prescribers.
www.rpharms.com
(Appendix 1)
Royal Pharmaceutical Society
A Competency Framework for Designated Prescribing Practitioners.
www.rpharms.com
(Appendix 2)
Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Professional guidance: Expanding prescribing scope of practice.
www.rpharms.com
(Appendix 3)
Royal Pharmaceutical Society
Prescribing guidance.
www.rpharms.com
General Pharmaceutical Council
Guidance for pharmacist prescribers.
www.pharmacyregulation.org
General Pharmaceutical Council
Standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists. January 2021.
www.pharmacyregulation.org
