About this research
Why we're doing this research: Community pharmacists can now train to prescribe medicines independently, without always needing to refer patients back to a GP first. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) wants to understand how this is working in practice, and what needs to change to help it work better and reach more patients.
Who we want to hear from:
We are looking for three groups of people to take part:
- Community pharmacists with or without a prescribing qualification
- GPs, nurse prescribers and other clinicians who can prescribe in primary or urgent care
- NHS commissioners, planners and service designers such as those working in ICBs, PCNs or practice management with commissioning responsibilities
What we'd like to know:
We’d like to understand everyone’s views on expanding prescribing in community pharmacy, including the value and potential barriers. More specifically, for each group, we will ask about:
Community pharmacists:
- Your current prescribing practice, confidence and development
- How you work with primary and urgent care colleagues who prescribe
GPs, nurse prescribers and other clinical prescribers:
- Your experience of working alongside community pharmacist prescribers
- How prescribing responsibilities are shared in your setting
NHS commissioners, planners and service designers:
- How community pharmacy prescribing is commissioned in your area
- Your experience of the Independent Prescribing Pathfinder Pilot
- How community pharmacy and primary or urgent care services work together
Why your answers matter: You will be contributing to an evidence base that the NPA will use to inform their work to increase the scope and scale of independent prescribing within community pharmacy.
