The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 273 No 7312 p212
14 August 2004

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Pharmacists do not need to check prescriptions written by every nurse for formulary compliance

Community pharmacists do not need to police formulary compliance by extended formulary and supplementary nurse prescribers, according to guidance issued by London, Eastern and South East Specialist Pharmacy Services. However, they do need to continue to check prescribing by district nurses and health visitors.

Beth Taylor, specialist principal pharmacist, explained that the guidance aims to help prevent unnecessary queries of nurse-written prescriptions. “We are getting feedback that pharmacists have been finding it difficult since the introduction of supplementary prescribing because both extended formulary and supplementary prescriber nurses are writing prescriptions on the same forms,” she said. “The guidance aims to reassure community pharmacists that they need to be clinically screening the prescription in the normal way and that they are not expected to police formulary compliance for extended formulary nurse prescribers.”

The guidance was taken from a Department of Health publication about the implementation of nurse prescribing. It says that it is not possible to distinguish between prescriptions written by extended formulary nurse prescribers and supplementary prescribers. Since supplementary prescribers do not have to prescribe according to a specific formulary, pharmacists do not need to check that these prescriptions comply with the nurse formulary. However, pharmacists are still expected to check that prescriptions written by district nurses or health visitor nurse prescribers (on form FP10 P) are within the current nurse formulary.

Regarding extended formulary and supplementary prescribers, the guidance states: “The dispensing pharmacist has accountability for ensuring the usual prescription requirements apply, eg, signature, date. However, it is the prescriber who is accountable for their own actions should they prescribe outside their clinical area, and employing organisations are expected to have clinical governance systems in place to monitor all prescribing activity.”