Pharmacists must only prescribe when there is real patient need
Pharmacists must only take on prescribing roles if they are in a position to prescribe on a regular basis and there is a patient need, said Professor Judy Cantrill, University of Manchester.
Speaking at the BPC on 15 September, she said: “Pharmacists must
prescribe because of patient need not because the pharmacist wants to.
I would be wary of going down a route of qualifying all pharmacists to
prescribe.”
Professor Cantrill’s comments were based on observations of nurse
prescribing. Although 22,000 nurses have been trained to be prescribers
in the UK, only half are actively prescribing. “Department of Health
guidance at the time said all suitably qualified nurses should receive
training, but it was not linked to local service needs,” she explained. “We
have learnt from that and now pharmacists have to demonstrate a need
to undertake training.” She added that people quickly lose competence
if they do not carry out a function they are trained for.
Professor Cantrill said that research showed that what patients want
in chronic disease management is competence, continuity of care, a personal
service and a holistic approach. Patients do not necessarily want prescribing
by a doctor, she explained. Supplementary prescribing could increase
convenience for patients in terms of accessibility but could also lead
to inconvenience. “Multiple pathologies could lead to a need for
more than one prescriber so we need to ensure that care does not become
more fragmented,” she said.
Full report, p376 |
