Is it necessary to have specific prescriber details – e.g. name, registration number – on a prescription?
The Department of Health (DH) guide – ‘Improving patients’ access to medicines: A guide to implementing nurse and pharmacist independent prescribing within the NHS in England’ states (Paragraph 66) that: “In primary care, a nurse or pharmacist should only write prescriptions on a prescription pad bearing his/her own unique Nurse and Midwifery Council’s (NMC’s)/Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RSPGB) registration number”. “All prescription forms require information to be entered on them (by printing or writing or a combination of both). In addition to the correct dispensing of the items prescribed, this allows for prescribing information and costs to be attributed to the correct prescriber and/or organisation, as well as to the correct prescribing budget”. Pre-printed FP10P prescription forms “will be overprinted to identify the Nurse or Pharmacist Independent Prescriber”. (Annex E – DH guide ‘Improving patients’ access to medicines’). For the overprint specifications for
