A change to prescribing rules will make it easier for New Zealanders to get the medicines they need, with pharmacist prescribers now able to apply for special authority to prescribe restricted medicines.  

Until today, only medical practitioners, dieticians, nurse practitioners and optometrists were able to apply for special authority approvals, requiring patients to see one of these practitioners separately or the pharmacist applying through them on their patient’s behalf.  

“In some cases, this resulted in slower access to medication and often higher costs for patients, duplication of care and time taken from other work for doctors, and additional effort for pharmacist prescribers in finding an available doctor,” said Ministry of Health chief clinical advisor Andi Shirtcliffe.  

The issues were exacerbated in rural locations, where the distances travelled by all three parties made the process more difficult, and now riskier in a Covid-19 environment, Shirtcliffe said.  

The change came into effect 1 October 2020.