ArticleBMC health services research2021
Examining non-medical prescribing trends in New Zealand: 2016-2020.
Article in BMC health services research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Evaluation of effectiveness and safety of pharmacist independent prescribers in care homes: cluster randomised controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2023Trial
- Patterns of Antibiotic Dispensing Among New Zealand Children: A Linkage Study.Pharmacoepidemiology and drug safety · 2026Article
- Antibiotic prescribing by non-medical healthcare professionals in primary care: a systematic review of effects on antibiotic use, patient experience, interprofessional relationships and job satisfaction.JAC-antimicrobial resistance · 2026Review
- A model-based cost-effectiveness analysis of prescribing by dietitians and therapeutic radiographers in England.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2026Article
- Prescription rights for psychologists - exploring professionals' perspective in Poland.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Clinical pharmacist prescriber in primary care in Slovenia: prospective non-randomised interventional study focused on clinical outcomes and quality of life.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Case Report: Clinical pharmacist prescriber in depression treatment in primary care settings: clinical case focused on prescribing practice.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Pharmacist prescriber implementation in the experiences of general practitioners, pharmacist prescribers and patients: qualitative study based on pilot trial in Slovenia.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Article
- Investigating practice integration of independent prescribing by community pharmacists using normalization process theory: a cross-sectional survey.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2024Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundPopulation growth and general practitioner workforce constraints are creating increasing demand for health services in New Zealand (NZ) and internationally. Non-medical prescribing (NMP) is one strategy that has been introduced to help manage this. Little is known about the NMP practice trends in NZ. The aim of this study was to provide a current overview of the scale, scope, and trends of NMP practice in NZ.
methodsAll claims for community dispensed medicines prescribed by a non-medical prescriber were extracted from the NZ Pharmaceutical Collection for the period 2016-2020. Patient demographics were retrieved from the Primary Health Organisation enrolment collection. These national databases contain prescription information for all subsidised community pharmacy medicines dispensed and healthcare enrolment data for 96% of New Zealanders.
resultsThe proportion of prescriptions written by all NMP providers and patients receiving NMP prescriptions increased each year from 1.8% (2016) to 3.6% (2019) and 8.4% (2016) to 14.4% (2019) respectively. From 2016 to 2019, the proportion of NMP patients who had at least one NMP prescription increased from 26% to 39% for nurse prescribers, from 1% to 9% for pharmacist prescribers, from 2% to 3% for dietitian prescribers, and decreased from 47% to 22% for dentists, and from 20% to 12% for midwives. The most commonly prescribed medicines were antibiotics (amoxicillin, amoxicillin with clavulanic acid, and metronidazole), and analgesics (paracetamol, and codeine phosphate). While some NMP providers were prescribing for patients with greater health needs, all NMP providers could be better utilised to reach more of these patients.
conclusionsThis study highlights that although the NMP service has been implemented in NZ, it has yet to become mainstream healthcare practice. This work provides a baseline to evaluate the NMP service moving forward and enable policy development. Improved implementation and integration of primary care NMP services can ensure continued access to prescribing services and medicines for our communities.
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