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Pharmacists’ views on prescribing rights for pharmacists in Sweden Abstract

Introduction: The right to prescribe has traditionally been for doctors and dentists, but over time the prescribing rights have evolved into non-medical prescriber in many countries, most notably in the UK. It has also been implanted in Poland, New Zealand, and the USA.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate clinical pharmacists’ views on prescribing rights for pharmacists in Sweden.

Methods: In November 2022, a cross-sectional study was conducted by sending a web survey to clinical pharmacists in Sweden.

Results: The response rate was 23%. Most pharmacists (585) believed that prescription rights for pharmacists should be introduced in Sweden and that it should be in collaboration with doctors and other healthcare professionals. According to the answers, there are both pros and cons for society, patients, and pharmacist’s whit pharmacists prescribing pharmaceuticals.

Conclusion: Swedish clinical pharmacists are generally positive about the right to prescribe pharmaceuticals but believe that it should be done in close collaboration with other healthcare staff. This indicates that Swedish pharmacists are ready to take responsibility for pharmaceutical prescribing.