Stenner Karen, van Even Suzanne, Collen Andy
University of Surrey.
University of West England.
Br Paramed J. 2021 May 1;6(1):30-37. doi: 10.29045/14784726.2021.6.6.1.30.
Paramedics working in advanced practice roles in the UK can now train to prescribe medicine. This is anticipated to benefit patient access to medicines and quality of care where there is a national shortage of doctors, particularly in primary care.
To explore the experience of paramedics who are early adopters of independent prescribing in a range of healthcare settings in the UK.
A qualitative study involving interviews between May and August 2019, with paramedics in the UK who had completed a prescribing programme.
Individual interviews with a purposive sample of paramedics recruited via social media and regional paramedic networks. Interviews covered experiences, benefits and challenges of the prescribing role. A framework analysis approach was used to identify key themes.
Participants were 18 advanced paramedics working in primary care, emergency departments, urgent care centres and rapid response units. All participants reported being adequately prepared to prescribe. Key benefits of prescribing included improving service capacity, efficiency and safety, and facilitating advanced clinical roles. Challenges included technological problems, inability to prescribe controlled drugs and managing expectations about the prescribing role. Concerns were raised about support and role expectations, particularly in general practice.
Paramedic prescribing is most successful in settings with a high volume of same-day presentations and urgent and emergency care. It facilitated advanced roles within multidisciplinary teams. Concerns indicate that greater consideration for support infrastructure and workforce planning is required within primary care to ensure paramedics meet the entry criteria for a prescribing role.
在英国担任高级执业角色的护理人员现在可以接受开具药物处方的培训。预计这将有助于患者获得药物，并在全国医生短缺的情况下提高护理质量，尤其是在初级保健领域。
探讨在英国一系列医疗环境中率先采用独立处方的护理人员的经验。
一项定性研究，于2019年5月至8月对英国完成处方开具计划的护理人员进行访谈。
通过社交媒体和地区护理人员网络有目的地抽取护理人员样本进行个人访谈。访谈内容涵盖开具处方角色的经验、益处和挑战。采用框架分析方法确定关键主题。
参与者为18名在初级保健、急诊科、紧急护理中心和快速反应单位工作的高级护理人员。所有参与者均表示已为开具处方做好充分准备。开具处方的主要益处包括提高服务能力、效率和安全性，以及促进高级临床角色的发挥。挑战包括技术问题、无法开具管制药品以及管理对开具处方角色的期望。人们对支持和角色期望提出了担忧，尤其是在全科医疗中。
护理人员开具处方在当日就诊量高以及紧急和急诊护理的环境中最为成功。它促进了多学科团队中的高级角色。这些担忧表明，初级保健领域需要更多地考虑支持基础设施和劳动力规划，以确保护理人员符合开具处方角色的入职标准。
