Leyla Hannbeck, the National Pharmacy Association’s chief pharmacist, shares the answers to three of the 700 questions fielded every day by the NPA’s Information Department

If a prescription has been printed over the paper form’s endorsement column, can I endorse the prescription on the right-hand side?

NHS Prescription Services has advised that the pharmacist should contact the prescriber to request that the prescription is reprinted. This is because the scanners used during the prescription pricing process may not be able to pick up the pharmacist’s endorsement if it is on the right-hand side of the prescription. The prescription may then be returned to the pharmacy for amendment, resulting in delayed payment.

 

Can I dispense and endorse isosorbide mononitrate MR tablets 60mg against a handwritten prescription for ‘ISMN MR 30mg once daily for six weeks’?

Yes. Although ‘ISMN’ is not a recognised abbreviation for isosorbide mononitrate, the FP10 prescription should be clearly endorsed with ‘isosorbide mononitrate MR tablets 60mg’ for the prescription to be passed for payment if this is the product supplied. In addition, isosorbide mononitrate MR tablets are not available in a strength of 30mg. The Summary of Product Characteristics for the generic version or brand of isosorbide mononitrate tablets MR tablets 60mg supplied must be checked to ensure that the licence allows it to be halved without affecting the release mechanism. The prescriber should be contacted to confirm whether they want the patient to split the tablets. The ‘PC’ or ‘PNC’ endorsements are not required.

 

Can the ‘PC’ or ‘PNC’ endorsement be used for an incorrect strength on an FP10 prescription?

No. The ‘PC’ (Prescriber Contacted) or ‘PNC’ (Prescriber Not Contacted) endorsements cannot be used by the pharmacist on an FP10 prescription where the incorrect strength of a product has been prescribed. The prescription should be returned to the prescriber for amendment.