Independent prescribing in community pharmacy Rebecca Meadows, University of Huddersfield Dr. Rachel Urban, Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire Dr. Margaret Culshaw, University of Huddersfield

Background Pharmacists have been able to act as prescribers since 2006 (General Pharmaceutical Council, 2016). Initially, most activity has been in hospital. Little information about prescribing in community pharmacy. NHS England’s ‘Five Year Forward View’ Funding.

Aims To determine the number of pharmacist independent prescribers working in community pharmacy within West Yorkshire. To clarify pharmacists’ opinions on the potential role of the independent prescriber by exploring how it can best be used to help patients gain the maximum benefit from their medicines. To determine the challenges and enablers of implementing pharmacist prescribing.

Method Questionnaire emailed to all contractors in West Yorkshire by CPWY. Open and closed questions, not time consuming to respond. Different questions were used for prescribers, non-prescribers and those in training but all asked in the same way.

Questionnaire design Some questions were completed by all respondents, and there were some for each of the groups. Respondents were given the opportunity to expand on their answers at every stage. Unbiased questions were used which were not leading in their nature. All respondents were given the chance to volunteer their details for further input in the research.

Results There was a low response rate of 36 (6.4%). There was a range in respondents. All non-prescribers (25) and those in training (3) considered pharmacist prescribing to be beneficial to their patients. 1 of the 6 prescribers didn’t. ‘Minor ailments’ and ‘cardiovascular’ were the most frequent areas for prescribing Pharmacists undertaking training planned to prescribe in respiratory / hypertension / cholesterol / minor ailments. Most pharmacists thought pharmacist prescribing was at least as safe as doctors’ prescribing.

In which setting should Pharmacist Prescribers be based?

Do you currently prescribe?

When was the last time you prescribed? Never. 7 years ago. 2 months ago. 25/12/2015. 29/01/2016.

In which therapeutic area do you prescribe?

Which therapeutic areas do you think are best suited to prescribing in Community Pharmacy?

What is the main barrier faced by Pharmacist Independent prescribers?

Further work Service implementation – increasing independent prescribing in community pharmacy by reviewing and improving existing services. Thank you!

References General Pharmaceutical Council. (2016). Pharmacist independent prescriber. Retrieved from https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/education/pharmacist-independent-prescriber. NHS England. (2014). Five year forward view. Retrieved from https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5yfv-web.pdf