Non Medical Prescribing is part of a wider agenda to modernize the NHS and is designed to:

·         give patients quicker access to medicines

·         improves access to services

·         optimize the skills of pharmacists, nurses and other health professionals

There are three types of non-medical prescribing

Independent prescribers include pharmacists, nurses and optometrists who are able to prescribe any medicine for any medical condition within their competence with the following restrictions:

·         Pharmacists can prescribe any medication with the exception of controlled drugs

·         Nurses can prescribe any medication and can prescribe from a limited range of controlled drugs.

·         Ophthalmologists can prescribe any licensed medicine for ocular conditions affecting the eye and surrounding tissue, but cannot prescribe any controlled drug independently.

Independent prescribers are responsible and accountable for the assessment of patients with undiagnosed and diagnosed conditions and for decisions about the clinical management required, including prescribing.

Nurse Prescribers' Formulary for Community Practitioners
Community Practitioners, formerly known as District Nurses and Health Visitors, are able to prescribe independently from a more limited formulary comprising a limited range of medicines, dressings and appliances suitable for use in community settings.

Supplementary prescribing
Enables trained and registered nurses, pharmacists, physiotherapists, chiropodists or podiatrists, radiographers and optometrists to prescribe any medicine including controlled drugs, within the framework of a patient- specific clinical management plan, agreed with a doctor.