The cost of writing a prescription is lower for physiotherapists who have independent prescribing rights than for pharmacists or other groups.
CSP professional adviser Pip White: 'physiotherapists can offer cost-effective prescribing alternatives to doctors'
That is the finding of the Non-Medical Prescribing an Economic Evaluation report by NHS Health Education North West.
The document provides an economic evaluation of seven prescribing disciplines in England, including physiotherapy, pharmacy, nursing and midwifery.
Researchers found that the average cost of writing a prescription, which is estimated to take up five minutes of an appointment, is £10.50 for pharmacists but only £3 for physiotherapists. The average cost for nurses is £5.77.
CSP professional adviser Pip White was closely involved in the campaign for independent prescribing rights for physiotherapists.
She said: ‘This is the first evidence we’ve had that physiotherapists can offer cost-effective prescribing alternatives to doctors, and that writing a prescription is not – in itself - expensive.
‘The added time to write a prescription is five minutes or less, so the cost of that extra time is very little.
‘I’m sure further evidence will show the positive impact on patient outcomes, as prescribing skills allow physios to manage whole care pathways in a cost-effective manner.’
Number of subscribers: 0
Log in to comment and read comments that have been added