Adherence to Remote Prescribing Principles by Medical and Non-Medical Prescribers; a Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Governance
• Clinical Practice
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Remote prescribing is integral to modern healthcare delivery.
• Ensuring adherence to high-level principles is crucial for patient safety and outcomes.
• Existing literature primarily focuses on medical prescribers' challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess adherence to high-level principles in remote prescribing.
• To investigate compliance by both medical and non-medical prescribers.
• To identify challenges and gaps in current remote prescribing governance.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive scoping review was conducted.
• Systematic searches across multiple databases (CINAHL, PubMed, Medline, Cochrane, Web of Science, Emcare) and grey literature.
• Deductive manifest content analysis using the UK High-level Principles for Good Practice in Remote Consultations and Prescribing framework.

Main Results:

• 14 studies were included from 6870 identified.
• Adherence to high-level principles was found to be limited and inconsistent.
• Key themes included patient privacy, assessment adequacy, evidence-based prescribing, safety netting, and organizational safety.

Conclusions:

• Medical prescribers face challenges in adhering to remote prescribing governance principles.
• No research was identified on how non-medical prescribers integrate these principles.
• Further research is essential to inform prescribing governance for non-medical prescribers to ensure patient safety.