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The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has published its latest edition of Medicine, Ethics and Practice (MEP), featuring a 30% increase in content compared with the previous edition.
MEP is the Society’s professional guide for pharmacists, which is updated on a yearly basis.
The latest publication, marking the 47th edition of the guide, contains expanded prescribing content and includes the full text of RPS competency frameworks and guidance around prescribing, including ‘A competency framework for designated prescribing practitioners‘.
The additional prescribing content has coincided with preparations for all trainee pharmacists to join the register as independent prescribers in 2026, increasing the demand for designated prescribing practitioners (DPPs).
However, pharmacists and pharmacy bodies have previously expressed concerns about the availability of DPPs, particularly in community pharmacy.
An analysis by The Pharmaceutical Journal of training places on Oriel for the 2025/2026 training year, published in June 2024, revealed an increase of 1,000 places on the previous year, despite a requirement for all training sites to provide a DPP from summer 2025.
The latest MEP also features up-to-date information about the valproate pregnancy prevention programme, including new legislation and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) guidance on full-pack dispensing of valproate-containing medicines.
In March 2023, pharmacists became legally required to dispense all medicines containing sodium valproate in the original manufacturer’s packaging to prevent the drug being dispensed in unlabelled white boxes, without the statutory patient information leaflet and associated warnings.
Then, in January 2024, the MHRA introduced measures requiring new valproate prescriptions to be signed off by two specialists to reduce the harm of the anti-epileptic medicine.
Rakhee Amin, editor of the MEP and senior professional standards pharmacist at the RPS, said: “The MEP continues to support our members and the wider pharmacy profession. The additions of prescribing and patient safety reflect our ongoing commitment to high standards of professional practice.
“We thank everyone who helped build this edition of the MEP, and those who provided expert advice and information during its preparation.”
The digital version of MEP can be accessed free of charge by all RPS members.
Foundation trainee members will automatically be sent a print copy free of charge, as well as receiving full access to the digital version.
Practising pharmacists based in Great Britain can request a free physical copy by completing a short form in the Printed Materials Opt-In section on the RPS website.
Print copies of MEP are £52.50 for members and £70 for non-members.
