UK prescribing rights

Executive Summary

Pharmacists and nurses in the UK have been granted the ability to prescribe any licensed medication for any medical condition, except for controlled drugs, beginning in Spring 2006, British Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt announces Nov. 10. Nurses and pharmacists would be required to undergo training and registration to gain prescribing privileges, the Department of Health states. "By expanding traditional prescribing roles, patients can more easily access the medicines they need from an increased number of highly trained health professionals," Hewitt states. The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency requested comments on extended prescribing rights in March (1"The Tan Sheet" March 14, 2005, p. 17)...