Patient group direction

Opportunities and challenges lie ahead for pharmacy technicians

The Association of Pharmacy Technicians UK is marking a ‘significant milestone’ as pharmacy technicians join the list of healthcare professionals who are permitted to use patient group directions.…

Making skill mix a reality: the advancing role of pharmacy technicians

With pharmacy technicians’ responsibilities in the pharmacy team growing fast, debate around the additional training they need is resurging.…

Pharmacy technicians need more training if they are to supply medicines under patient group directions, says RPS

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society supported proposed changes to regulations but said current preregistration training is not sufficient for pharmacy technicians to supply and administer medicines under patient group directions.…

Government consults on allowing pharmacy technicians to supply medicines under a patient group direction

The change to regulations would allow pharmacy technicians to administer vaccines and certain medicines.…

Patient group direction templates for prescribing antimicrobials should be created, says report

National patient group direction templates for the prescribing of antimicrobial medicines should be developed to save money, boost standards and help in the battle against resistance, according to the NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service.…

Pharmacy First service rolled out across health boards in Scotland

A service allowing patients to receive prescriptions direct from a pharmacist without consulting a GP is being rolled out across Scotland in time for the 2017–2018 winter period.…

Commercial provider of PGDs for pharmacies shuts down

A supplier of patient group directions (PGD) for pharmacies has announced that it is shutting down, meaning that any of its PGDs are no longer valid after 10 May 2017.…

Grampian pharmacists supply antibiotics for uncomplicated UTIs

Community pharmacists in Grampian have been given the go-ahead to supply antibiotics to women with an uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI).…

Government cuts to community pharmacy: the perspective of grassroots pharmacists

How should pharmacy respond to major funding cuts for community pharmacy? Community pharmacists and pharmacy owners give their views.…

Right medicine, better health, fitter future: a closer look at the RPS Scotland manifesto

RPS Scotland has launched its 2016 manifesto ‘Right medicine – better health – fitter future’ ahead of the upcoming Scottish Parliament elections. Here chair of the RPS Scottish pharmacy board, John McAnaw, talks to Julia Robinson about what the RPS is doing to promote t…