Prescribing Practice - Essay Example

Professional development of Prescribing Practice Prescribing practice has been developing in the recent years. Prescribing should be done in a proper manner, as it deals with drugs. It must be done effectively so that the patients are treated properly. A good prescribing practice should be followed. Not all prescribing practitioners are efficient. Some people may not have proper training and experience. Any prescriber should be sure of the medicine he is prescribing. He must diagnose the patient's problem and then prescribe according to it.(Courtenay 2004). They cannot suggest a medicine without analyzing the patient's disease. As more number of people are opting for this prescribing method, the government should make sure that people preferring this profession should possess a good knowledge. Prescribers need to understand the patient's problem and the medicines prescribed by them have to be effective. The medicines prescribed by these practitioners has to be safe, it should not create any side effects. Prescribing practice is developing with the help of separate courses that are being conducted to help these people. There are courses for non-medical prescribing which many people undergo in order to excel in this field. As a worker in a child health team, one should take enough care before prescribing. Prescribing practices cannot be pursued by everyone.(Anderson 1996). The various criteria must be satisfied. The prescribers should keep them updated on the inclusion and introduction of new drugs. Any drug prescribed to child must not be a high dosage, as it may create any further complication. There are certain strategies based on which drugs are to be prescribed. The quality of prescribing should be maintained. The prescription must have all the necessary details. The name of the drug, number of days the drug has to be taken and dosage are the essential information that has to be present in a prescription. Non medical prescribing is mostly done by nurses. They can prescribe on their own without consulting the doctor. They have been given this freedom to prescribe the necessary drugs. Though they can prescribe medicines, they are eligible only to prescribe certain medicines. They can provide prescriptions for normal diseases. Now the rule has been changed and some nurses are permitted to prescribe even for critical diseases. But this requires them to have a proper educational background in this field. If this is considered in the perspective of a worker in a child health team, they have all the rights to practice prescribing for all sorts of ailments. This gives them an exposure to the medical field in a more detailed way. As they are already well equipped with these courses, the need to consult the doctors is not compulsory. In cases of emergency, this proves to be effective. (McKinnon 2007). These prescribers have to face a lot of pressure since the government keeps modifying the law. The rate at which the prescribing practice is developing seems to be helping a lot of nurse and other medical practitioners. As a prescribing person in a child health team, one should be careful in selecting the medicine. Deciding on who are eligible to prescribe is a tedious task. The way of prescribing differs from one person to another. The process of decision making involves various steps. Decision making plays a major role in knowing the method of prescribing. Before prescribing a medicine, the nurse or a general practitioner should decide on whether it will be effective and will it serve the intended purpose. Decision must be carefully made right from selecting drug till the patient's complete recovery. Considering this from the perspective of a worker in a multi professional adolescent mental health team, the patient's condition should be kept in mind before deciding on the treatment. The non medical prescribers should prescribe medicines in the similar pattern as a doctor does. The way of prescribing should be simple and easy to understand. Specific guidelines have been framed by the government which the prescribers should follow. They are entitled to prescribe medicines for disease and they should manage the patients well. Patient's satisfaction is the important thing to be considered. Prescribing practitioners should try and satisfy the patients by giving them the required information on drugs and helping them when they find it difficult. Any non medical prescriber can get the help of the doctors before deciding on any important factors. Today not only nurses but people like pharmacists and even physiotherapists are authorized to prescribe drugs to their patients. The decision making process involves proper research on what and how to decide. The risk should be less and the medicines should not be costly. It has to be feasible for the patient and the suggested drug should be effective. The decision clearly shows the education, experience and the prescriber's knowledge about the disease. In some cases, prescribers who are highly experienced tend to make decisions which were not widely accepted. Instead people with minimal experience seemed to decide properly for which number of people agree. The decision depends on the person who is involved with it. (Bradley 1991). Some people may have considerably less experience, but may possess good knowledge about the particular ailment. The decisions made by the prescribers may not be correct in all the circumstances. Hence proper analysis helps in making a decision.(Dordevic 2002). Nowadays various systems are available to assist on decision making. These decision support systems are based on computer. They use a set of software that is exclusively meant for assisting in decision making. These systems are of great help in deciding the patient's treatment and prescribing drugs.(Chapman et al 2002). The systems have the provision for including the patient's details and it gives the assessment of each patient. It then gives the report to the prescribers to proceed further. This eases the job of the prescribing practitioners, as they can go through the system's report of a patient and then decide on the treatment. The systems are designed and developed according to the needs of the hospital. These decision support systems proves to be effective in guiding the prescribers in the decision making process. One of the major advantage of implementing these systems is, it saves time and makes sure proper reports are delivered. The use of such decision support systems are increasing day by day. In general, prescribing practice should ensure proper medication to the patient. Non medical prescribing is gaining popularity these days and the practitioners should assure proper treatment. The quality of prescribing is also important, since based on quality only the patients will trust which will help in the betterment of these prescribing practices. New methods can be adapted to improve the prescribing practice that will lead to good prescribing. Good knowledge and prior experience will guide the practitioners to become a better prescriber. By following the guidelines and making use of the available support systems can improve the prescribing practice. This clearly shows that prescribing practice is developing professionally. References Courtenay M., (2004). Independent and Supplementary Prescribing- An Essential Guide. New York: Cambridge University Press. Anderson M., (1996). Strategies for Improving Prescribing Practice. Retrieved from : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1487565/ McKinnon J., (2007). Towards Prescribing Practice. London:Wiley Publications. Bradley C., (1991). Decision Making and Prescribing Patterns. Vol 8, No 3. Retrieved from: http://fampra.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/8/3/276 Dordevic N., (2002). Characteristics of Decision Making Process During Prescribing in General Practice. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16605194 Chapman S, Duriex P, Walley T., (2002). Article on Good Prescribing Practice. Retrieved from: http://www.euro.who.int/document/e83015_9.pdf. Read More