Key Summary
- Study reveals that the majority of community pharmacists strongly endorse the expansion of independent prescribing.
- Despite high patient and professional willingness, structural obstacles such as inadequate NHS funding and restricted access to patient records threaten the rollout.
- Survey data shows 84 percent of participating pharmacists believe expanding prescribing will improve timely treatment.
A new report by health research specialists Thiscovery and the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) shows that the majority of community pharmacists strongly support the expansion of independent prescribing in community pharmacies.
However, the report warns that the profession faces a number of structural obstacles, specifically inadequate NHS funding and limited access to patient records.
Many pharmacists also pointed out that it extremely difficult to secure a Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) for training placement.
The study is the result of an NPA-commissioned in-depth analysis of attitudes to prescribing across pharmacists, patients, and other healthcare professionals.
Conducted between April and June among nearly 500 participants, the research is part of a larger project mapping out opportunities for pharmacy prescribers to better serve patients, alleviate pressure on the wider NHS, and secure medium- and long-term commercial growth for pharmacy businesses.
The NPA believes that this project will be highly significant in informing the future development of community pharmacy patient care and prescribing practice in the NHS.
Findings of three surveys -- each commissioned by the NPA and carried out by health research specialists Thiscovery and Q community include:
- Pharmacists: 84 percent of participating pharmacists felt that expanding prescribing would improve access to timely treatment.
- However, nearly a third of qualified pharmacists said they were not using their qualification to prescribe at all.
- Patients: 70 percent of patients who had not previously received a pharmacist prescription stated they would be happy to have a pharmacist prescribe medication for them.
- Healthcare Peers: The majority of commissioners and non-pharmacist professionals (64 percent) agreed that pharmacy prescribing would significantly improve patient access.
Patients explicitly told researchers that they expect seamless information sharing between community pharmacies and general practice.
They emphasised that their full clinical history should be available to the prescribing pharmacist, any new prescription must be recorded, and their GP must be kept fully aware.
Currently, a lack of funding and limited access to integrated IT services are central barriers to achieving this level of care.
To address these challenges, senior figures from the NHS, pharmacy leaders, patient representatives, and specialist health policy researchers from across the UK gathered in London this week (15 July).
The roundtable focused on validating the research findings against real-world experiences and identifying priority actions needed to support safe, sustainable pharmacist prescribing.
The NPA is trying to translate these insights into a practical roadmap and framework for independent prescribing to support the NHS 10-Year Plan, create robust business opportunities, and offer practical guidance to the pharmacy workforce.
Sukhi Basra, NPA Vice Chair, who chaired this week’s roundtable, said: “Prescribing has transformed the way I am able to serve my patients and this research shows it has the potential to have a huge positive impact on patients and the NHS across the country – bringing care out of hospital and into the community as more and more pharmacists qualify as prescribers.
“The NPA has strongly argued that these opportunities require proper funding and support across the healthcare establishment, but the rewards for patients, pharmacies and the health system are potentially dramatic.
“We’re conducting this important research and bringing colleagues together across the health system to ensure pharmacies can take advantage of the accelerating number of prescribers in the system, which represents great patient care, great value for the NHS and an amazing opportunity for our profession.”
The project is also supported by the NPA Health Education Foundation.
