Non-medical prescribing and advanced practice in children's hospices

Abstract

In recent years, as the prevalence of prescribers has increased, there has been discord and confusion around exactly how to refer to prescribers who are not doctors (Nuttall and Rutt-Howard, 2020). Professional regulators continue to define prescribers by specific profession, using terms such as ‘nurse prescriber’ (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2018a), ‘pharmacist prescriber’ (General Pharmaceutical Society, 2018) and ‘allied health professional prescriber’ (Health and Care Professions Council, 2016). However, there is a broader range of literature using the collective term of ‘non-medical prescribers’ (All Wales Medicines Strategy Group, 2017; Department of Health Northern Ireland, 2020; NHS England, 2020; Scottish Government, 2020), highlighting the multidisciplinary nature of contemporary prescribing practices across the UK, and the shared responsibility of prescribers for assuring safe and effective practice. Within this chapter, we refer to prescribers collectively, as non-medical prescribers.

Although this chapter has been written with the four countries of the UK in mind, it is important that you consider any country-specific, and profession-specific guidelines.