Respondents support Society's proposals for new Code of Ethics
Respondents to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's final consultation on a revised Code of Ethics for Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians have shown strong support for the proposals, the Society has announced.
The Society is also pleased with the level of the response. It says that
the consultation — which began three months ago (PJ, 11 November
2006, centre
pull-out) and ended on 26 January — attracted a total
of 144 responses from pharmacists, technicians, pharmacy bodies and other
professional and patient organisations.
Among other things, 83 per cent of respondents agreed that the proposed
new code was easy to understand. Individual comments about specific aspects
of the code were of great value and are being used to make further changes
to the revised code before it is finalised.
The consultation also asked respondents for their views on how to support
the profession in implementing the new Code
of Ethics. Respondents provided a range of ideas, some of which will
be used by the Society when launching the revised code later this year.
The consultation, which sought views
on the detailed content and wording of
the revised code, followed two previous consultations, on the benefits
and limitations of the current codes (October 2005) and on the proposed
structure of a revised code (June 2006).
The Society says it has been pleased with the response to all three consultations
and hopes that a similar level of response will be achieved with the
five current consultations
on the detailed standards and guidance documents to support the revised code (PJ, 20 January, p82). These documents cover:
• Patient consent
• Patient confidentiality
• Sale and supply of medicines
• Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in positions of authority
• Pharmacist prescribers.
The Society’s head of professional ethics, Lynsey Balmer, says: “These
consultations give the profession and the public the opportunity to have
early input into these standards and guidance documents, and therefore
a real input into the shaping of the performance measures that pharmacists
and pharmacy technicians will work towards in the future.
“We urge pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to respond to these
consultations to help ensure that the documents are relevant
to current and future practice. Some of the documents may not be relevant
to everyone,
but pharmacists and technicians are being encouraged to respond to those
documents that relate to their everyday practice.”
How to take part in these consultations is explained in the Panel (below).
Two further standards documents are also being drafted. One is concerned
with internet pharmacy and the other deals with advertising. Pharmacists
will be informed via
The Journal when these consultations begin.
How to take part in the consultations on professional
guidance
The five documents and five questionnaire
forms can be accessed
on the Society’s
website
The questionnaires can either be filled in and submitted online or downloaded
and returned by e-mail.
To assist respondents in preparing their responses, the draft revised code can
also be accessed on the website, as can the existing Code of Ethics and Standards
and the Code of Ethics for Pharmacy Technicians. Both existing codes are also
published in the 30th edition of ‘Medicines, ethics and practice: a guide
for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians’ (July 2006).
Those without internet access can obtain copies of any or all of consultation
documents and questionnaires by contacting Priya Sejpal, Professional Ethics
Pharmacist, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, 1
Lambeth High Street, London SE1 7JN (tel 020 7572 2481; e-mail priya.sejpal@rpsgb.org).
Comments on the drafts must be submitted by 9 March 2007 |
|
The
Pharmaceutical Journal