A picture of prescribing practice
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.