Background
Independent prescribing (IP) by pharmacists is about to take a significant step forward. From the autumn, all newly qualified pharmacists will be independent prescribers on the first day of their registration. In addition, the pharmacy contract in England will include a national NHS IP offer as an extension of Pharmacy First and the pharmacy contraception service.1,2
Independent prescribing by pharmacists was originally introduced in 2006. These recent developments, driven in part by the NHS 10-Year Health Plan, address concerns that opportunities for IP in community pharmacies have been limited, and many community pharmacists who gained IP status were no longer active. This combination may have quickly led to the loss of IP skills, along with a negative impact on having the confidence to prescribe.3,4,5,6,7
Community pharmacists have already been supplying prescription-only medicines under patient group directions as part of Pharmacy First. The changes coming in will see:2
· prescribing within existing Pharmacy First clinical pathways and the pharmacy contraception service;
· up to 5 new prescribing‑only pathways (yet to be determined);
· appropriate circumstances for prescription management.
After initial setup and monthly infrastructure fees, consultation payments for the new IP clinical pathway consultations will follow the same fee structure as for Pharmacy First, counting towards fixed payment thresholds.2