Pharmacist Prescribing Activities—an Electronic Survey on the Opinions of Australian Pharmacists

Aim To identify Australian pharmacists' awareness of their international colleagues' prescribing practices and explore their views about the feasibility and utility of pharmacist prescribing privileges within the scope of their current practice. Method Members of the AusPharmList, Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacy and The Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia were invited by e‐mail to participate in a community pharmacist, consultant pharmacist or hospital pharmacist electronic survey. These surveys were designed to elicit views concerning: dependent and independent prescribing; resource availability to support pharmacist prescribing; ability to justify prescribing decisions; and limitations of pharmacist prescribing. Results Of the 268 surveys completed (response rate 6.4%), 45% of respondents were aware of their international colleagues' prescribing activities. 74% agreed that pharmacists should be granted dependent prescribing authority, while 52% agreed that pharmacists should be granted independent prescribing authority. The majority (88%) indicated they could identify their own limitations and 86% believed they could justify their prescribing decisions as dependent prescribers. 73% believed they would benefit from prescribing authority in their daily scope of practice. Conclusion In 2004, awareness of international developments in pharmacist prescribing was not extensive among the respondents. However, many identified areas where they would benefit from dependent prescribing activities in their daily scope of practice.