Background: The pharmacist prescribing system allows pharmacists at the primary care
level to prescribe certain medicines dependently (in collaboration with a doctor) or
independently. Abroad, pharmacist prescribers are additionally qualified health
professionals who have obtained official certification from the competent authority to
prescribe medicines for a specific therapeutic area. This system is still unknown in Slovenia,
but it is most common in the UK and is being introduced in many countries.
Aim: The aim of this master thesis is to review the literature on the pharmacist prescribing
system and to explore and identify the facilitators and barriers of this system. The aim is also
to investigate and evaluate the opinions of the general population, pharmacists and medical
doctors on the possibility of introducing such a system in Slovenia.
Methods: We performed a literature review in the MEDLINE database using a defined
search profile and presented the data. Based on the content of the literature review, a
questionnaire was developed in the 1KA web tool for each population - general population,
pharmacists and medical doctors - and the opinions and responses were analysed.
Results: We included 27 articles in our literature review, most of them from the UK, and
the most commonly used methodologies were questionnaire and systematic review. The
identified benefits were: improved access to medicines and healthcare, time saving, reduced
doctors’ workload and increased use of pharmacists’ skills. Barriers included: poor
awareness of the system, inadequate support, potential conflicts of interest, professional
encroachment on the domain of medical doctors and insufficient funding, infrastructure
support and technological resources, and prescriber competences. The questionnaire was
completed by 71 members of the general population, 86 pharmacists and 73 medical doctors.
47,3 % of pharmacists, 22,2 % of the general population and 15,0 % of doctors have already
heard about the system. 32,5 % of medical doctors felt that pharmacist prescribing system
would not be as safe as if prescribing by medical doctors only; 71,4 % of pharmacists thought
that pharmacies do not have enough staff to carry out additional prescribing activities. 48,8
% of medical doctors would like to work with a pharmacist prescriber.
Conclusions: The perspectives of the general population, pharmacists and medical doctors
in Slovenia on the pharmacist prescribing system, do not typically differ from the
perspectives introduced in the literature review from abroad. The biggest differences in levels of agreement between the populations refer to: additional funding, safety, competence,
staffing and support.
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