The first edition of Maintaining competency in prescribing: An outline framework to help allied health professional supplementary prescribers is currently available here .

It should be noted that the development of supplementary prescribing by some allied health professionals, and therefore the relevance of this document, is dependent on:

• Consideration and recommendations by the Committee on Safety of Medicines and decisions by Ministers which will follow the responses to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency/Department of Health consultation on proposals for supplementary prescribing by chiropodists, physiotherapists, radiographers and optometrists and proposed amendments to the Prescription Only Medicines (Human Uses) Order 1997, as set out in MLX 305.



• Parliamentary approval to amendments to medicines legislation and NHS regulations, which is not expected before early 2005.



• A mechanism being put in place for the Health Professions Council to record the supplementary prescribing qualification after AHPs have qualified as prescribers.

Please click here to download the Outline framework (version for local adaptation) .