Exploring the views of medical practitioners on proposed legislative changes in Western Australia to support supervised pharmacist prescribing in the hospital setting

Abstract

Supervised pharmacist prescribing (SPP) in the hospital setting, also known as Partnered Pharmacist Medication Prescribing (PPMP), represents a collaborative model of non-medical prescribing which could enable additional gains in efficiency, safety, and increased health service capacity. Following successful implementation of Partnered Pharmacist Medication Charting (PPMC) within our 783-bed quaternary metropolitan hospital, located in Western Australia, Australia, approximately 1800 medical practitioners were invited to complete a five-question survey via email to ascertain whether implementing SPP would be supported and thought to add value. There were 262 responses received within a two-week period, with 77.8% of doctors indicating they felt SPP would be beneficial to their team/the hospital. The Pharmacy Board of Australia previously concluded pharmacist prescribing within a collaborative healthcare environment fell within the current scope of pharmacist practice and that there were no regulatory barriers under national law. Our proposed model of SPP aligns with the Australian Medical Association's position on non-medical prescribing and recommendations in the Western Australian Sustainable health review. This project was exempt due to the local policy requirements that constitute research by the South Metropolitan Health Service Human Research Ethics Committee and registered as a quality improvement project in WA Health Governance, Evidence, Knowledge, Outcomes (Reference no: GEKO48966). The justification for this exemption was as follows: the project presented minimal patient risk and conforms with the National Health and Medical Research Council's Ethical considerations in quality assistance and evaluation activities. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. Potential participants were given project information via email indicating their participation was voluntary and anonymous. Participants provided their consent by completing the survey.