PSI welcomes the HRB report on pharmacist prescribing

The PSI welcomes the evidence review published today by the Health Research Board (HRB). The review, Effectiveness, safety, and cost-effectiveness of pharmacist prescribing, is significant in the current context and for future considerations regarding the evolving provision of care by pharmacists for the benefit of patients and the wider health system.

The evidence review was undertaken at the request of the Department of Health as a follow up to the recommendations made in 2024 by the Expert Taskforce to Support the Expansion of the Role of Pharmacy .

Speaking about the publication of the HRB review, Joanne Kissane, Chief Officer and Registrar of the PSI, said, 

“I welcome the evidence and findings presented today within this HRB review. As a former member of the Department of Health’s Expert Taskforce to Support the Expansion of the Role of Pharmacy and as regulator of pharmacists and pharmacies, it is important that we assess the benefits and impacts of change within the healthcare system, including for pharmacy, to ensure there is patient and health system benefit.”

“This review provides a positive evidence base about the effectiveness, safety and cost-effectiveness of pharmacists as prescribers at a time when pharmacist role expansion is being progressed. The PSI is currently involved in implementing and supporting changes in how healthcare will be provided through pharmacies, and we will support further policy initiatives, such as realising the benefits of pharmacist prescribing into the future, as part of our regulatory role.”