ABSTRACT
The act of prescribing a medicine for a patient is an exceptionally complex procedure. Most commonly a prescription is issued because the patient has a disease or a problem that the doctor considers likely to respond to that treatment. A practice manager will want to ensure that all the staff are familiar with the requirements of the law and those of the National Health Service relating to the prescribing of medicine. Each quarter every partner in a practice, or single-handed doctor, is sent details of his or her prescribing for the previous quarter and that of the whole practice by the Prescription Pricing Authority (PPA). The data are derived from all the prescriptions presented to the PPA for payment by retail pharmacists and dispensing doctors. Within the statement of Fees and Allowances there is a requirement that a practice reports on the method it uses for managing repeat prescribing.
