Non-medical prescribing: the story so far

Abstract

Non-medical prescribing is an element of the National Health Service modernisation agenda intended to change traditional professional roles and responsibilities, as part of New Ways of Working. This article describes concepts of non-medical prescribing and its implications for UK psychiatric practice. the perceived benefits of non-medical prescribing cannot be denied but debate continues about competence and clinical governance issues. Psychiatrists have an essential role to play in the success of non-medical prescribing. Further research and evaluation are needed to establish what works best in terms of clinical safety and training.

Non‐medical prescribing: audit, practice and views

“…Self‐reported bias to this question cannot entirely be excluded even though it did not directly reflect upon the respondents themselves. Some non‐medical prescribing courses have been reported by Kwentoh & Reilly (2009) as being focused on generic training with little mental health content. Concerns about training are being addressed by some Trusts which have arranged additional teaching (Gray et al .…”

“…Independent prescribers rightly argue that they are legally on par with medical prescribers. Kwentoh & Reilly (2009) found that independent prescribers prescribe appropriately when supervised by medically trained assessors. Reassuringly, all our respondents said that they would seek advice from a psychiatrist when needed.…”

“…‘Independent Prescribing’ is a wide umbrella term used to describe prescribing by all practitioners deemed fully responsible and accountable for their assessment of patients and clinical decisions. The second term, ‘Supplementary Prescribing’ (Department of Health 2006) describes the voluntary partnership between an independent prescriber (usually a doctor or a dentist) and a supplementary prescriber (usually a nurse or pharmacist) to implement a clinical management plan with the agreement of service users (Kwentoh & Reilly 2009). This plan, containing sufficient detail, is an essential legal requirement, to ensure that patient safety is not compromised (Department of Health 2006).…”