The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7405 insert
17 June 2006

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Your views sought on the structure of the new Code of Ethics for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain is conducting a fundamental review of the codes of ethics for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. These codes set out the professional duties and responsibilities of pharmacy professionals.

The review is in response to a number of changes within pharmacy and wider health care in recent years. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians work in a range of different settings and their roles, responsibilities and ways of working are constantly evolving. In this changing environment, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians need to be able to use their professional judgement and be accountable for the decisions they make. It is important that the codes of ethics support this. In addition to changes to professional practice, the way in which the pharmacy profession is regulated is also changing, with new legislation governing the Society’s regulatory procedures expected to be in place later in 2006. The Society therefore wants to ensure that its ethical framework reflects modern pharmacy practice and continues to ensure patient safety and public confidence in the pharmacy profession.

A working group has been formed to oversee the review and the Society would like to obtain the views of the profession and the public throughout the review process. Having consulted last autumn on the benefits and limitations of the current codes and asked what core principles and values should underpin the pharmacy profession, we are now seeking views on the structure of the revised code. It is intended that there will be a further consultation on the detail of the content and wording of the revised code later this year.

Developing the draft structure

The responses to the initial consultation last autumn helped the working group begin to establish the fundamental requirements of the revised code of ethics. A key message from this consultation was the need to ensure that the code of ethics reflects the changing roles of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians and is relevant to all areas of pharmacy, not just community and hospital practice. A number of respondents thought that the requirements of the current codes are too prescriptive and that this can cause problems when a pharmacist or pharmacy technician is faced with a unique or unusual situation. There were calls for the code to provide a clear list of ethical principles and it was thought that detailed standards for specific professional services, for example, the service specifications in part 3 of the current pharmacist’s code of ethics and standards, should be in separate guidance documents rather than forming part of the code. The need for the revised code to be more user-friendly and to make a clear distinction between legal requirements, professional obligations and good practice guidance were other important messages to emerge from the initial consultation.

The Society believes that the exercise of professional judgement and ability to apply ethical principles to a variety of situations is essential to being a professional and that any attempt to write a comprehensive book of rules to cover every situation a pharmacist or pharmacy technician may face is inappropriate. Instead it is proposed that the revised code of ethics should provide a framework of ethical principles within which the whole profession should operate.

It is proposed that:

· The revised code should be based on a set of over-arching principles that will inform the conduct, performance and practice of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.

· The code of ethics should promote and support a culture of accountability and professional judgement.

· The principles of the code should be applicable to all sectors of the pharmacy profession and should not need to change much over time.

· Practising and non-practising pharmacists and pharmacy technicians will continue to be required to comply with the requirements of the code and the code should be applicable even where an individual’s role does not involve direct patient care.

· There should be one code of ethics for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians on the basis that the same ethical principles will apply to the whole of pharmacy, even though how they are applied will depend on an individual’s role and circumstances.

· The code of ethics should be clear and understandable for both the profession and members of the public.

· The code of ethics should not include detailed technical guidance, but will act as the core document from which further professional standards and guidance can be developed.

· Where there is a need for more detailed standards or guidance on complex issues or specific areas of practice, this should be produced separately from the code. The status of these supporting documents, for example, whether they are mandatory or good practice requirements, should be clearly indicated.

· The revised code should be called the “Code of Ethics” to reflect that fact that the code will not contain detailed technical requirements. (The pharmacists’ code is currently called the “Code of Ethics and Standards” and the pharmacy technicians’ code is called the “Code of Ethics for Pharmacy Technicians”.)

· The code of ethics will continue to inform decision-making at the various stages of fitness-to-practise procedures and failure to adhere to the principles of the code could put a pharmacist’s or pharmacy technician’s registration at risk.

Draft structure

The draft structure overleaf illustrates the approach proposed by the working group. The principles of the code of ethics are intended to apply to all sectors of pharmacy, and pharmacists’ and pharmacy technicians’ professional and personal conduct will be judged against the code. This is reflected in the statement defining the purpose of the code. The statement of purpose will form part of the introduction to the revised code.

The draft structure is based on seven principles of ethical practice. These are:

· Make the care of patients your first concern

· Exercise your professional judgement in the interests of patients and the public

· Demonstrate respect for people

· Promote the rights of patients to participate in decisions about their care

· Maintain your professional knowledge and competence

· Be honest and trustworthy

· Take responsibility for your working practices

Each principle will be supported by requirements that explain the types of actions and behaviours expected of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians when applying the principles in practice. The exact wording of these requirements has still to be developed, but we have provided some brief statements to help illustrate the types of requirements that will fall under each principle. The requirements are not an exhaustive list and pharmacists and pharmacy technicians will be expected to comply with relevant standards and guidance issued by the Society and other organisations.

There will be specific areas of practice or professional activities that will require more detailed standards and guidance than will be provided in the code. It is intended that this will be provided in separate guidance documents. Some guidance requirements will be of a technical nature, while others will relate to principles of the code of ethics. The Society currently produces a range of guidance documents and we will review the content and status of these in light of the changes to the structure of the code. With regard to new guidance documents, priority will be given to developing standards and/or guidance for issues where other guidance does not currently exist, for example, patient consent, corporate practice and the role of the superintendent pharmacist.

Let us have your views

The draft structure is very different from the current codes of ethics, which is why we would like to get your views on this at an early stage. The Society would welcome views on the both the format of the draft structure and the principles we have identified. Please let us have your views by 8 September 2006.