- Prescribing Advice for GPs - https://www.prescriber.org.uk -

Good Practice Guidance for PGDs

The National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) has published good practice guidance for those involved in providing medicines to patients without a prescription under a Patient Group Direction (PGD).

It recommends that PGDs are used when only when there is a clear benefit to the patient, safety is not compromised and provided there are transparent processes and line of accountability.

The guidance further recommends that organisations explore all the available options for supplying and/or administering medicines before developing a PGD including consideration of investing in training more non-medical prescribers to enable service redesign. It is also recommended that PGDs are not used to treat long term conditions or to provide medication with frequent dose changes (e.g. insulin and anticoagulants).

Action: Clinicians who use PGDs or who are involved in the preparation and review of PGDs will find this guide to be a useful resource.