Pharmacist prescribing

Pharmacists in Scotland and Wales look to be set to be the first to give their special green prescribing pens an outing. The National Health Service Plan for Wales, published this week (see p175) includes a commitment to implement the Crown review on prescribing by 2004. The Scottish Parliament also debated extending prescribing rights to pharmacists, and others, recently (see p174). The tone was that Scotland would, as ever, do things its own way, but the assumption was more when than if.

When Lord Hunt spoke at the British Pharmaceutical Conference last year he said that pharmacist prescribing in England would be introduced “as Parliamentary time allows”. Certainly there will be no time for it this side of the general election, widely expected to be held in May. If Labour is returned (as seems likely) then time might be found for this and several other measures that the Royal Pharmaceutical Society is keen to see enacted.

There may be advantages to letting pharmacists north and west of the borders start prescribing first. Among these smaller communities of pharmacists it should be easier to establish pilot projects which identify the right people to be prescribing and the right medicines to be prescribed. Early trials in Scotland and Wales may make pharmacist prescribing easier to introduce in England once some of the only to be expected problems have been identified and solved.

The Society has been fortunate in securing the services of Dr June Crown, author of the eponymous review, in preparing its own strategy for seeing pharmacist prescribing implemented (PJ, December 16, 2000, p882). Dr Crown will need to take account of developments, and sensitivities, in Scotland and Wales.

Prescribing rights will be a responsibility for the profession as well as a reward. As continuing controversy surrounding emergency hormonal contraception shows (see p177), new opportunities for pharmacists often come with strings attached. The idea of extending prescribing rights is to make life easier for patients by allowing them to receive the medicines they need from the most appropriate person at the most appropriate time. Pharmacists seeking to extend their roles will need to keep this clearly in focus.

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