Empowering you to meet regulatory and best practice requirements

Boots now offers a Prescriber Pathway to support Independent Prescribers (IPs) in their prescribing practice; this provides the tools and resources needed to deliver prescribing services competently and confidently. In order to prescribe in Boots, there are three key steps that must be completed:

1. IP nomination for a prescribing service 

• An IP must be nominated by their line manager using the Pharmacy Services nomination form found on BootsLive. This is the only route to accessing the Prescriber Pathway.

2. Prescriber Governance and Declaration 

• Following nomination, the Boots Prescriber Governance course will be allocated to the IP’s Boots Learning account within 5 to 10 working days
• This is a mandatory requirement that once completed provides the IP with prescribing rights in Boots
• The course includes the Boots Prescribing Policy, which covers agreeing a scope of practice and includes a final IP declaration that confirms prescribing rights (note: any required clinical upskilling must be undertaken by the IP separately)
• The IP must attain prescribing rights in Boots before offering any private or NHS prescribing service (note: any prescribing activity conducted outside of this governance process will be investigated and may result in further action).  

Locum pharmacists or nurses cannot prescribe for any services (NHS or private) when working for Boots (as per the current Prescribing Governance policy). 

3. Service set-up/authorisation 

• An IP with prescribing rights is indemnified by the Company for their agreed scope of practice and can deliver an authorised prescribing service following completion of the appropriate service training and associated service declaration
• The only authorised prescribing services in Boots currently are: the Boots Prescribing Service (BPS/BIPPS); NHS Wales Pharmacist Independent Prescriber Service (PIPS); NHS Scotland Pharmacy First Plus Service (PFP) (note: IPs must not offer to prescribe for patients outside of these authorised services).

Looking ahead, the opportunities for IPs to use their skills to support positive patient outcomes will continue to grow. We await further details on the NHS Pathfinder pilots that will be available across England; these are due in 2023/24 and are anticipated to test various prescribing models in Community Pharmacy.  

Further updates and information can be found on BootsLive. 

The Boots Online Doctor prescribers follow the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health (FSRH) Guideline on Emergency Contraception, which includes considering prescribing a double dose (3mg) of levonorgestrel if the patient weighs more than 70kg or has a BMI greater than 26 kg/m². You may therefore see prescriptions with instructions for two tablets to be taken together; this is in line with the FSRH guideline and supported by the appropriate evidence base.  

If a pharmacist has a query about any Boots Online Doctor prescriptions, the prescribing team can be contacted via the Boots Digital Health Helpdesk on 08000 318386.

Every year, 25,000 people are diagnosed with Crohn’s disease or colitis. However, more than a quarter of these people have been waiting for a diagnosis for more than a year, and almost half end up in A&E before their diagnosis. Delays to diagnosis can affect a person’s ability to continue with their education or work, limit their treatment options and increase their risk of being hospitalised or needing emergency surgery. 

To raise awareness and to support Crohn’s & Colitis UK’s National Early Diagnosis & ‘Cut the Crap’ campaigns, each store will receive an A4 poster and a supply of leaflets in their store’s mailbag in the coming weeks. The poster and leaflets should be placed where they can be seen or accessed by patients and customers. Team members wanting to develop their knowledge of Crohn’s Disease and colitis can review a brief module (produced by experts at Crohn’s & Colitis UK).