GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin spoke at the Pharmacy Show this week on key developments in pharmacy regulation.
Duncan told delegates that the new standards for pharmacy professionals would soon be approved by Council and explained how professionalism and compassionate, person centred care were at their core. He underscored that the new standards were focussed on ‘assurance’ and ‘improvement’ - providing assurance to patients and the public about the standard of care they receive from pharmacy professionals, and supporting continuous improvement in the quality of pharmacy practice.
In addition to the standards overview, Duncan discussed how the standards are informing the work on changes to the framework for continuing fitness to practice (CFtP) and continuing professional development (CPD). The GPhC is looking to develop a framework and requirements that would change what maintaining registration as a pharmacy professional means.
On-going work in this area, a CFtP pilot and the just-launched CPD consultation, are aimed at finding ways to reduce the regulatory burden on registrants and encourage them to engage in activities that drive reflection on their learning and a focus on outcomes.
Duncan noted that the two projects underscored the GPhC’s commitment to improving our regulatory effectiveness, efficiency and proportionality.