A bitter pill?

Pharmacists say they support a proposal to train them to prescribe medicines in order to take pressure off Scotland’s family doctors.

I have grave doubts about this. Pharmacists have not undergone a medical training and are in no position to prescribe. Experienced advice, perhaps...

Scotspat In Spain, repeat prescriptions are checked by the doctor annually. The prescriptions are renewed monthly by computer. All the recipient does is go to the pharmacy every month for their medication – taking their medical card and prescription with them. It works there.

Iain

Next step will be Google diagnosis then Amazon next day delivery?

Arch Stainton I rather think that a major problem is that GPS do not have time to check that prescriptions are still necessary. Could it be that kitchen cupboards all over the country are piled high with unused prescriptions?

The Ayrshire bard Why stop there? I’m sure that with a three-week training course supermarket check-out operators could prescribe drugs, and if you get one month’s supply, you get another month free.

Gustav Gustavsson

The theory behind this is excellent, but the real value will depend on the detail and how much support the system gets. It is possible to share medical and prescribing records online, so a pharmacist should be able to check if anything has been prescribed elsewhere that could cause problems.

Johanna Robertson

Could a pharmacist know by just looking at someone if that person’s sore throat is just a sore throat or onset of meningitis? I don’t think so.

Rosiemcgregor

Well, there’s a surprise, pharmacists wanting to be in charge of prescribing drugs. No vested interest there, of course.

Jock Tamson