A picture of prescribing practice

15 June 2016

Earlier this month we published a report summarising the key findings of our survey of pharmacist prescribers.

The report shows that although most of those who responded to the survey had positive experiences, some flagged up a lack of awareness of the pharmacist prescriber role and negative consequences of ‘competition’ between different prescriber roles.

The report also found that organisational culture and the immediate environment – working in a multidisciplinary team, for example – can play an important role both in enabling and acting as a barrier to prescribing practice.  Support and assistance provided by other healthcare professionals and managers also played an important role in pharmacist prescribers’ professional practice.

There were mixed views with regards to training, with some respondents feeling that undertaking practical training within the independent prescribing course in one clinical area could be restrictive, while others valued having a defined scope.

The data also shows general agreement that there is already a lot of guidance and advice available to pharmacist prescribers, but some respondents suggested there were further opportunities to enhance access to those resources.

We’ve shared the findings of this report with commissioners and funders, professional bodies and other stakeholders across Great Britain, so that they are aware of the opportunities and barriers for pharmacist prescribers and to help make sure that any gaps in support and guidance are addressed.

The findings will also directly feed into our future review of education standards for independent prescribing, as well as an important and pressing review into the role of the designated medical practitioner.

If you are a prescriber who took the time to respond to the survey, thank you for your contribution. This report will help us to build a more holistic picture of pharmacy practice and will inform the work on our regulatory standards, while providing useful information for a range of other organisations.

Related articles

23 October 2023
Charlie Massey, Chief Executive and Registrar of the General Medical Council, introduces the new standards for doctors which focus on building successful teams and positive, open cultures across...
23 October 2023
In this snapshot article, we look at insights around the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment and sex to help encourage learning and discussions in pharmacy teams Under...
23 October 2023
See our resources for help to meet your professional responsibilities The duty of candour – the responsibility to be open and honest with patients when something goes wrong – continues to be one of...
22 June 2023
Help us evaluate our five-year strategy for changing the way we manage concerns about pharmacy professionals In June 2021, we published our five-year strategy- Managing concerns about pharmacy...
22 June 2023
The RPS would like to hear from pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and the wider pharmacy team to help contribute to the RPS’ Inclusion and Diversity Strategy. Working with partners across the system...