CD prescribing changes to be made in two stages
Legislation to underpin a number of changes to the prescribing and dispensing
of Controlled Drugs that pharmacists were asked to implement earlier
this year starts to come into effect on 7 July (PDF 60K).
Implementation is being staged, with different parts of the new requirements
being brought into effect at different times in England, Scotland and
Wales.
From 7 July, private prescriptions for CDs in England and Scotland will
have to be written on special forms provided by primary care trusts or
health boards. A requirement to use forms provided by local health boards
in Wales does not come into effect until 1 January 2007.
Also from 7 July, pharmacists in England, Scotland and Wales will be
allowed to dispense CD prescriptions that include minor errors, provided
they correct the prescriptions in such a way that the correction is clearly
attributable to the pharmacist concerned. At the same time, the requirements
for CD registers will be modified to allow additional information, such
as running balances, to be recorded; also the validity of CD prescriptions
will be cut from 13 weeks to 28 days.
From 1 January 2007, pharmacists in England, Scotland and Wales will
have to record in their CD registers whether the medicine was collected
by the patient, the patient’s representative or by a health professional.
If it is collected by a health professional, that person’s name
and address will have to be recorded. Pharmacists will not have to note
any names if the medicine is collected by the patient or by a representative
who is not a health professional, but they will have to record whether
the patient or representative was asked for evidence of their identity
and whether any was seen as a result. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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