02.10.12
HCPC develops guidance for new prescription powers
The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) has launched a consultation on new standards for prescribing, following an announcement that chiropodists/podiatrists and physiotherapists can act as independent prescribers.
Currently they can act as supplementary prescribers, as can radiographers. In July, the Department of Health announced that appropriately trained chiropodists/podiatrists and physiotherapists could prescribe independently.
To do so, they must be registered on the HCPC register, and the new standards will offer guidance to both education programmes training these professions and the individuals themselves.
The consultation on the standards is open until January 2013, and the HCPC hopes to publish in April. It is expected that training for the new prescribing will start in autumn of 2013.
Michael Guthrie, director of policy and standards at the HCPC, said: “Currently, the standard of proficiency related to supplementary prescribing sits within the standards of proficiency for the particular profession. We think that publishing the standards in one document allows us to clearly set out our expectations for prescribing practice and makes it easier for stakeholders to find the standards.
“As with all our standards, the primary purpose of the standards for prescribing is to protect the public. To ensure that the new standards are robust and reflect the latest in safe and effective prescribing practice, we looked at a variety of sources on prescribing during the drafting process, including standards and frameworks set by other regulators.”
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