The Ministry of Health invites submissions on proposed amendments to the schedule of specified prescription medicines for designated pharmacist prescribers.
The Ministry of Health, on behalf of the Director-General, must consult with those people or organisations that may be affected by a change to the schedules before making a legal change by Gazette notice.
This submission will allow you to provide feedback on the proposed medicines, or to propose medicines that have not been referenced.
Please submit your feedback on the proposed amendments by 9 August 2021.
Note that specific questions you may have about the proposed prescription medicines or controlled drugs for designated pharmacist prescribers should be directed to the Pharmacy Council.
Background
Designated pharmacist prescribers have met specific requirements and are registered in an additional scope of practice by the Pharmacy Council.[1] They work in collaborative multidisciplinary teams and only prescribe medicines within their specific area of practice. Additional information on requirements and practice context is provided in the “Who/What is a Designated Pharmacist Prescriber?” section.
The current schedule of 1,517 prescription medicines has been in effect since the Medicines (Designated Pharmacist Prescribers) Regulations passed into legislation in June 2013. Since then, additional medicines have become available in New Zealand, to which wider access would benefit patients. The schedule needs to be amended to reflect these additional medicines.
Required Amendments to Schedules
Following work with pharmacist prescribers and Ministry of Health, the Pharmacy Council recommends 198 prescription medicines should be added to the schedule of the Medicines (Designated Pharmacist Prescribers) Regulations 2013.[2]
Schedule 1B of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1977 specifies 25 controlled drugs that may be prescribed by designated pharmacist prescribers. Three controlled drugs should be added to this schedule.
Who/What is a Designated Pharmacist Prescriber?
The Medicines (Designated Pharmacist Prescriber) Regulation 2013 and Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1977 permit designated pharmacist prescribers to prescribe specified prescription medicines.
Pharmacy Council sets the Pharmacist Prescriber scope of practice and the required qualifications to enter the scope. These are published in a Gazette notice. The prescribing activities of designated pharmacist prescribers are therefore tightly regulated via the Medicines Act 1981, the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, and the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003.
Pharmacy Council also sets expected levels of competence and requirements for entry into the scope. Requirements include:
Additional information on designated pharmacist prescribers including requirements to enter the scope of practice and competence standards can be found on the Pharmacy Council website.
[1] Pharmacy Council is the regulator for the pharmacy profession (including pharmacist prescribers) in Aotearoa New Zealand and is mandated by the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003.
[2] Not all of the medicines proposed are currently Medsafe approved. Current legislation does not authorise pharmacist prescribers to prescribe unapproved products, therefore these proposals are forward-looking to avoid barriers accessing important medicines which may become available in New Zealand (such as dulaglutide for type 2 diabetes).
[3] View the full Competence Standards for the Pharmacy Profession 2015 and Pharmacist Prescriber: Prescribing competency framework and standards at https://pharmacycouncil.org.nz/pharmacist/competence-standards/
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