Transforming and Supporting Patient Care - Health Professions ...

63Chapter 3 - A New Drug Approvals Framework For Ontariothe National Council for the Professional Development of Nursing andMidwifery reported that “nurses and midwives are safe prescribers;patients view nurse and midwife prescribers favourably because ofattributes such as responsiveness and empathy, and their ability tocommunicate effectively and provide adequate information about apatient’s condition and treatment; nurse and midwife prescribing is costandtime-effective for service providers; rates of patients’ compliance withnurse and midwife prescriptions are high; and nurses and midwives takedetailed medical histories before making a decision about an interventionand may be more likely to prescribe a non-pharmacologicalintervention”. 24,25,26,27In a current review of pharmacy and nursing supplementary prescribing inGreat Britain, R. Cooper and others noted that supplementary prescribingwas generally viewed positively, particularly as it relates to the benefits ofimproved access to medicines and reduced delays. Stakeholders’ safetyconcerns were minimal while views on economic impact varied. The reportalso noted challenges to non-physician prescribing. These challengesinclude a need to increase the general awareness of and reduceinterprofessional tensions related to skill and training. 28In summary, HPRAC’s literature review indicates that the limited evaluativereviews published to date generally support the introduction of newprescribing authority, particularly related to nursing and pharmacy.Some reports have also identified a number of barriers and challenges thatremain to be resolved, particularly around implementation logistics, publicawareness, education and training, and continuing interprofessional tensions.V. Patient Safety and Drug AdministrationHPRAC conducted a general literature and jurisdictional review whichincluded an overall review of information on patient safety. Additionally,HPRAC carried out a more specific review of literature on patient safety andheld interviews with patient safety organizations including representatives ofthe Institute for Safe Medication Practices Canada (ISMP), Ministry of Healthand Long-Term Care patient safety leaders, Canada Health Infoway and theCanadian Patient Safety Institute. HPRAC also met with experts in electronichealth records to discuss the issues of patient safety and e-health.24The Introduction of Nurse and Midwife Prescribing in Ireland: An Overview (2007),Department of Health & Children, Ireland.25Evaluation of non-medical prescribing within the Essex Health Economy (2005-2006).26Latter, S., Maben, J., Myall, M., Courtnay, M., Young, A, Dunn, N. (2005) An Evaluation of ExtendedFormulary Independent Nurse Prescribing. Executive Summary of Final Report. Policy ResearchProgram at the Department of Health and University of Southampton.27Latter, S., Maben, J., Myall, M., Young, A. (2007), Evaluating Nurse Prescribers’ Education andContinuing Professional Development for Independent Prescribing Practice: Findings from aNational Survey in England Nurse Education Today. 27: 685-696.28Cooper, R., Anderson, C., Avery, T., Bissell, P., Guillaume, L., Hutchinson, A., Lymn, J.,Murphy, E., Ratcliffe, J., Ward, P. (2008) Stakeholders' views of UK nurse and pharmacistsupplementary prescribing, J Health Serv Res Policy. 13(4): 215-21.HPRAC Critical Links January 2009