Pursuant to section 11(1) of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 ("the Act"), the Pharmacy Council specifies the following scope of practice.
This notice comes into effect on 12 July 2013.
1. Pharmacist Prescriber Scope of Practice
Pharmacist Prescribers have specialised clinical, pharmacological and pharmaceutical knowledge, skills and understanding relevant to their area of prescribing practice. This allows them to provide individualised medicines management services, including the prescribing of medicines to patients across a range of healthcare settings and models.
Pharmacist Prescribers work in a collaborative health team environment with other healthcare professionals and are not the primary diagnostician. They can write a prescription for a patient in their care to initiate or modify therapy (including discontinuation or maintenance of therapy originally initiated by another prescriber). They can also provide a wide range of assessment and treatment interventions which includes, but is not limited to:
- Ordering and interpreting investigation (including laboratory and related tests).
- Assessing and monitoring a patient's response to therapy.
- Providing education and advice to a patient on their medicine therapy.
The Pharmacist Prescriber must prescribe within the limits of their professional expertise and competence (both clinical and cultural) and ethical codes of practice. They are responsible and accountable for the care they provide.
2. Qualifications Prescribed for Registration in the Pharmacist Prescriber Scope of Practice
Pursuant to section 12 of the Act, the following qualifications are prescribed for registration in the pharmacist prescriber scope of practice:
(a) Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Pharmacy in Prescribing, University of Auckland; or
(b) Postgraduate Certificate in Pharmacist Prescribing, University of Otago.
Dated at Wellington this 13th day of June 2013.
CLAIRE PAGET-HAY, Registrar, Pharmacy Council of New Zealand.