Collaborative pharmacist prescribing models in Australian hospitals: A scoping study

Collaborative pharmacist prescribing models have been trialled and implemented in Australian hospitals and involve credentialed pharmacists working with doctors and patients to develop patient medicine plans and prescribe medicines.

This study aimed to identify pharmacist prescribing policies and procedures in Australian hospitals and provide a narrative summary of the models and associated training.

A scoping study was conducted using an exploratory and descriptive approach to identify and map pharmacist prescribing models implemented in Australian hospitals, and their associated training. Hospital pharmacy directors in Australia were contacted through a hospital pharmacy professional organisation in November 2023 and were asked to provide their pharmacist prescribing policies and procedures. Details of the models and training programs were extracted and summarised, with similarities and differences narratively reported.

Fifteen different collaborative pharmacist prescribing models were reported to be implemented across more than 35 hospitals. Fourteen models had a formal training program. The models varied in scope of practice, particularly relating to medicine initiation and the timing of prescribing. The training and maintenance of currency of practice differed between models. Only three models recognised credentialing from other hospitals.

The study reveals variation in scope of practice, training, and credentialing processes between pharmacist prescribing models, with limited recognition and transferability of prescribing skills across jurisdictions in Australia. Efforts to establish national accreditation standards for pharmacist prescriber education programs and the recent introduction of a national credentialing program, could pave the way for the standardisation of the models and training within Australian hospitals.