The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7399 p522
6 May 2006

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No deafening silence, please more
Technicians will soon be a new profession more

No deafening silence, please

Legislation is now in place to enable pharmacists in England to prescribe independently, provided they are suitably trained (p523), and comparable legislative changes will be introduced in Wales and Scotland in time. It seems unlikely that many pharmacists will actually be prescribing independently before the end of this year, since training has not yet been accredited — either for pharmacists starting from scratch or for those already designated supplementary prescribers.

Interestingly, the Department of Health has made no predictions about the target number of pharmacists that this may involve. When supplementary prescribing was given the go ahead in November 2002, there were expectations that 1,000 pharmacists would be prescribing by the end of 2004. Recent figures indicate that there are 836 supplementary prescribers on the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Register. This shortfall is partly because of the nature of supplementary prescribing: it requires the involvement of the primary prescriber (the clinician) and the patient as well as the pharmacist, and the drawing up of a clinical management plan that all parties accept. With luck, independent prescribing will be less prescriptive so that, provided pharmacists are confident that diagnoses have been made correctly, they will be given a free hand to prescribe appropriate drugs for patients. Indeed, in time, patients should learn that this is the best arrangement for them.

However, to reach that happy state of affairs will involve a major effort by all national pharmacy bodies. Together they should start planning an effective campaign that will explain what, when and why pharmacists will be able to prescribe and, as a result, the benefits for patients. There was a deafening silence when it came to promoting supplementary prescribing to the general public. The profession should not let this further opportunity pass it by.

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Technicians will soon be a new profession

In the third of The Journal’s articles looking into some of the details of the draft Section 60 Order for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, we examine the statutory obligation for pharmacists to have professional indemnity arrangements in place (p528).

The Society is also keen to emphasise that pharmacy technicians will become part of a new regulated profession under the proposals and that the term “pharmacy technician” will be a protected title.

Another aspect of interest to pharmacists and pharmacy technicians alike is the refined definition of “practising”.

These are all points worth considering and taking on board.

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