ArticleBMJ open2022
Medicines prescribed by non-medical independent prescribers in primary care in Wales: a 10-year longitudinal study April 2011-March 2021.
Article in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Adherence to Remote Prescribing Principles by Medical and Non-Medical Prescribers; a Scoping Review.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Article
- Assessment of the Prescribing Pharmacist's Role in Supporting Access to Prescription-Only Medicines-Metadata Analysis in Poland.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Uptake of community pharmacist prescribing over a three-year period.Exploratory research in clinical and social pharmacy · 2023Article
- Assessment of rational use of medicines for chronic non-communicable diseases: A cross-sectional design in a public access clinic in Jamaica.Journal of public health research · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe therapeutic classes of medicines prescribed by non-medical independent prescribers (NMIPs) working in primary care in Wales has not been studied in detail. The aim of this study was to conduct a 10-year longitudinal analysis of NMIP prescribing in Wales from April 2011 to March 2021. The study examined the British National Formulary (BNF) chapters from which medicines were prescribed by NMIPs, whether this changed over time, and whether there was variation in prescribing across the geographic regions of Wales.
designRetrospective secondary data analysis of primary care prescribing data. Monthly prescribing data for the 10 National Health Service financial years (April to March) from April 2011 to March 2021 were obtained from the Comparative Analysis System for Prescribing Audit software. Data were analysed according to BNF chapter, to identify in which therapeutic areas NMIPs were prescribing, and whether this changed over the study period.
resultsThe number of items prescribed by NMIPs increased during the study period. From April 2011 to March 2021 prescribing in seven BNF chapters equated to approximately 80% of total items, with cardiovascular system medicines most prescribed. In the financial year 2011-2012 the BNF chapters with the greatest proportion of items prescribed were infection (18%) and respiratory system (13%), while in 2020-2021, these had changed to cardiovascular (23%) and nervous system (19%). The number of items prescribed in each health board in Wales varied, however, the BNF chapters contributing the largest percentages of items to the health board totals were broadly comparable.
conclusionsThe BNF chapter with the most prescribed items changed from infection to cardiovascular during the study period, suggesting an increase in chronic disease management by NMIPs. The impact of this on the delivery of primary care services and patient outcomes is a focus for future work.
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