The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7251 p739
31 May 2003

This article
Reprint
Photocopy

News summary

Related websites
Consultation document (PDF 440K)
Home Office (www.homeoffice.gov.uk)

End of CD hand-writing requirement?

Computer-generated prescriptions and registers for Controlled Drugs (CDs) should be permitted, according to Government proposals.

The suggested changes to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 are outlined in a consultation document that has been produced by the Home Office.

The first proposal is that the current requirement that certain details of prescriptions for CDs to be hand-written should be removed. "In view of the developments in information technology, the Government now considers that the hand-writing requirement should be relaxed and an amendment made to the 2001 regulations to permit prescriptions for Schedule 2 and 3 drugs to be hand-written or computer-generated," the consultation letter says.

However, it adds that no other part of the regulation should be relaxed so prescribers would still need to state the quantity of drugs in both words and figures, and sign the prescription by hand. Advantages of the change include saving time, reducing the number of errors in reading prescriptions and avoiding the need for them to be reissued.

The second proposal is to allow registers for Schedule 1 and 2 CDs to be maintained on a computer. This would be subject to safeguards being incorporated into the software to ensure that entries could not be altered at a later date. The author of each entry would also have to be identifiable. This change would be optional and pharmacists (and other professionals required to keep registers) would still be able to retain records in a bound register.

Further to this, the Government proposes that copies of information from requisitions, orders and private prescriptions required for certain CDs could be kept on computer as an alternative to preserving the original form. It also proposes that the regulations should be amended to allow requisitions for Schedule 2 and 3 CDs to be computer-generated.

The Government does not consider that these changes will result in an additional resource burden on the public or private sector. "The changes are of an optional nature and those affected will be able to decide the extent to which they wish to take advantage of them. Whether they do so will depend on whether it makes good business sense for them. In most cases it will because, in practice, most manual records are backed by computerised stock systems," the consultation document states.

The proposals are aimed at easing the burden on doctors, pharmacists and businesses in the pharmaceutical sector. They have been considered and approved by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

A copy of the document can be found at the Home Office website (PDF 440K). Comments should be made to Naim Siddiqui, Drugs Unit, the Home Office (tel 020 7273 3474, e-mail Naim.Siddiqui@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk). The consultation period runs until 22 August.

The proposed changes would affect England, Wales and Scotland. The Government plans to implement the proposed changes during 2003, subject to consideration of comments received in the consultation period.

  * PDF files on PJ Online require Acrobat Reader 4 or later