New prescribing powers for UK physios and podiatrists
pharmafile | August 20, 2013 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing | Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, College of Podiatry, Norman Lamb, arthritis
Under new legislation enacted today British physiotherapists and podiatrists will for the first time be authorised to independently prescribe medicines.
The new law means that, providing they undergo supplementary training, practitioners no longer need to refer patients to GPs or other qualified healthcare workers when they decide pharmaceutical intervention is appropriate.
The legislation is intended to ensure that patients with conditions such as diabetic foot ulcers, arthritis and chronic back pain receive treatment more quickly.
Nurses and pharmacists are already allowed to prescribe under similar arrangements brought in by the government several years’ ago.
The UK is the only country in the world to grant such powers to physiotherapists and podiatrists – and the law opens up a potentially sizable new market for the pharma industry to target.
There are over 47,000 physiotherapists and nearly 13,000 podiatrists across Britain registered with regulatory body the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Care and support minister Norman Lamb, said: “These changes will allow [physiotherapists and podiatrists] to give better care to the millions of people with acute and long term conditions.” He added that the changes will also free up valuable time for GPs.
But to earn the authority to prescribe physiotherapists and podiatrists must first complete a training course approved by the HCPC.
Part-time training can be completed in a single university semester and includes 90 hours of supervised practice, as well as both coursework- and examination-based assessment.
Upon successful completion of the course, therapists will be annotated as independent prescribers on the HCPC register.
The College of Podiatry’s chief executive Joanna Brown noted that podiatrists treat a wide-range of conditions that effect patients’ feet, including diabetes, arthritis and skin problems, commenting: “The ability to independently prescribe will particularly benefit patients in these areas.”
The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy’s chief executive Phil Gray praised the new ‘landmark’ legislation, saying: “Physiotherapists being able to independently prescribe will remove bureaucracy, free up time for doctors and save money for the NHS.”
Around 15 million people are currently living with a long term condition which requires trips to hospital or to the GP, meaning this new law could potentially help many people in the UK.
Hugh McCafferty
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