Most pharmacists not confident in supply of prescription-only veterinary medicines
Most pharmacists do not believe they are competent to supply prescription-only veterinary medicines, the results of a survey published last week suggest.
The survey of 186 pharmacists found that 47 per cent dispensed veterinary
prescriptions for companion animals, but that 86 per cent believed they
needed to increase their knowledge of veterinary pharmacy to allow them
to dispense veterinary medicines safely (Veterinary Record 2006;158:223).
In addition, 91 per cent said they were not aware of the provisions of
the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 as it relates to the diagnosis of diseases
in animals. To comply with the Act, pharmacists should not dispense non-prescription-only
medicines for animals if doing so involves making a diagnosis or advising
on a diagnosis, the authors explain.
However, pharmacists seem eager to learn more about the supply of veterinary
medicines: 85 per cent said they would be interested in furthering their
knowledge in order to become competent to dispense veterinary medicines
and 46 per cent said they would be prepared to make significant commitments
in time and cost, either to themselves or to their pharmacy, to do so. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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