Table 3 Regulatory and oversight requirements
From: Nurse prescribing of medicines in 13 European countries
Country | Group of nurses | Registration/authorisation | Physician oversight officially required? (e.g. collaborative agreement) | Other regulatory requirements (e.g. protocols, employer-level requirements) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cyprus | APN | Yes (authorisation from competent authority) | n/r | n/r |
Denmark | RN | No | Formal collaboration with a physician | Individual frame prescriptions with physician required |
Estonia | Family nurse (pereõde) | Yes (Health Board, Healthcare Workers’ Registry) | Required to work with a family physician | No |
Finland | RN | Yes | Authorisation by a physician | Employment with municipal health center; ID number with National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health |
Ireland | Nurse prescriber | Yes (An Bord Altranais) | Collaborative agreement with a physician required | Employment in healthcare setting, personal identification number (PIN) |
Netherlands | Nurse specialist | Yes (nurse specialist registry) | No | No |
| Â | Diabetes, lung, oncology specialist nurses | No (not legally required, but voluntary registration possible) | No | Following protocols and after initial diagnosis by a physician |
Norway | Public health nurse | Yes (National registry of healthcare professions) | No | Formal documentation of prescriptions (as any other profession), listed in central registry for prescriptions logs |
Poland | RN (Master) | No | No | No |
| Â | RN (Bachelor) | No | Continuous prescribing only, after initial diagnosis by physician | No |
Spain | RN (Bachelor) | Yes (regions in charge of issuing certificates on prescribing) | Yes, physician supervision | For certain medicines, prescribing rights to be defined in protocols and clinical guidelines, to be developed by the Medical and Nursing Councils and MoH |
Sweden | RN (Bachelor) | Yes (prescribing code at Board of Health and Welfare) | No (e.g. if employed as district nurse, works independently) | Employment with county council, primary, home health or elderly care |
UK | Independent prescriber | Yes (annotation in registry as independent prescriber) | Prescribing partnership with physician required | Support from employing organisation, personal identification number |
| Â | Supplementary prescriber | Yes (annotation as supplementary prescriber) | Clinical management plan, prescribing partnership with physician | Support from employing organisation, ID number, continued prescribing of medicines listed in individual clinical management plan agreed between patient, physician and supplementary prescriber |