Repeat prescribing policy in New Zealand general practice: making it better

INTRODUCTION Repeat prescribing is common in New Zealand general practice. Research also suggests that repeat prescribing is a process prone to error. All New Zealand general practices have to comply with requirements to have a repeat prescribing policy, with the details of the policy to be designed by the practice. AIM To inform the development of practice policy, research was undertaken with experienced general practitioners to identify and mitigate risk in the process. METHODS At the 2019 annual conference of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, a workshop was held with 58 experienced general practitioner participants. The group was divided into six small groups, each with the task of discussing one aspect of the repeat prescribing process. The results were then discussed with the whole group and key discussion points were transcribed and analysed. RESULTS Issues identified included: improving patient education on appropriateness of repeat prescribing; having protected time for medicine reconciliation and the task of repeat prescribing; reducing the number of personnel and steps in the process; and clarity over responsibility for repeat prescribing. DISCUSSION This research can inform the local development of a repeat prescribing policy at the practice level or be used to critique existing practice policies. Attention was also drawn to the increasing administrative burden that repeat prescribing contributes to in general practice.