Plans for more independent prescribing progressing
pharmafile | March 9, 2005 | News story | |Â Â Â
Nurses could soon be able to independently prescribe for long-term conditions such as asthma and diabetes, under proposals being considered by the Department of Health.
The consultation on extending prescribing could also see pharmacists able to prescribe medicines for a range of common illnesses from acne to tonsillitis.
Health Secretary John Reid said the plans would place pharmacy at the heart of primary care and use nurses' skills to give patients faster access to the medicines they need.
"Under our proposals, patients will benefit from an increased number of highly trained health professionals. Increased prescribing by nurses and pharmacists also frees up doctors to deal with more serious conditions, allowing more patients to be treated more quickly," he said.
Both nurses and pharmacists would have to be given additional training to carry out the proposed duties.
Commenting on extending nurse prescribing, chief nursing officer Christine Beasley said: "By breaking down the traditional boundaries of a nurse's role, we are able to ensure that patients have quicker access to the treatment they need."
The consultation also proposes that pharmacists take on clinical duties such as patient admission and discharge reviews, acute pain management and medication reviews.
The plans were welcomed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, which said they were a logical extension of pharmacists' current clinical role and would complement the new community pharmacy contract.
RPSGB president Nicholas Wood said: "Pharmacists are highly trained health professionals and experts in medicines, and prescribing by pharmacists will bring a range of benefits for patients."
Five options are being considered to widen nurse prescribing ranging from no change to creating advanced practice nurses with a high level of prescribing competencies, while the options for pharmacists follow asimilar model.
There are more than 28,000 district nurses and health visitors who can prescribe from a list of appliances, dressings and some medicines and over 4,000 nurses trained to prescribe medicines for conditions such as dermatitis, conjunctivitis and back pain.
There are currently also 240 pharmacists in England qualified and registered as supplementary prescribers.
Related feature:
With the pharmacy contract due to start this year, the pharmaceutical industry needs to understand the difference between med ed and pharm ed programmes.
Thursday , March 03, 2005
