Community Pharmacy Independent Prescribing Pathfinder Programme (CPIPPP) – Formative Evaluation

Monday, 30 June 2025

Background

Pharmacists have been practicing as independent prescribers since 2006, mainly working in hospital, general practice or other primary care settings. This programme explores how pharmacists can practice as an NHS independent prescriber within the community pharmacy sector. This is important because all pharmacists from 2025 onwards will graduate as qualified independent prescribers therefore improving prescribing capacity within the workforce.

In 2023, NHS England commissioned NHS Midlands and Lancashire (NHS ML) to undertake a formative evaluation for this programme between 1st September 2023 and 31st March 2024. The aim of the formative evaluation was to understand stakeholder experiences and to learn what was working well and not so well during the early implementation phase of the CPIPPP. The five main themes explored were operational; digital; safety and clinical governance; sustainability and stakeholder acceptability.

Action

NHS ML planned and delivered a formative evaluation that included two surveys and 32 interviews. 

  • The ICB survey was repeated in November, December 2023 and January 2024 and disseminated to ICB Community Pharmacy Integrations Leads (CPCLs) and Project Managers for completion.
  • The Pathfinder Site Lead (PSL) survey was disseminated to the person most involved in setting up the Pathfinder site in March 2024. 
  • The 32 interviews were conducted January - March 2024 with the Regional Senior Pharmacist Integration Leads, CPCLs, PSLs and Independent Prescribing Pharmacists on the programme.

Impact

Quantitative and qualitative data captured from the two different surveys and 32 interviews was analysed, themed and coded.

Conclusions and recommendations were drawn and summarised in a Final Report. An Executive Summary and presentation slide set were also produced.

NHS ML presented the key findings to the Independent Prescribing Operational Group, where the results were well received.

The Formative Evaluation collated key learnings from the early stages of this pathfinder programme and highlighted key areas for further exploration. This supported the development of the Summative Evaluation.

 

 

Information:

We commissioned NHS ML to carry out Formative Evaluation and Implementation Support. The team showed great agility, patience and professionalism as our needs and expectations of them changed. We pushed NHS ML as hard as we could to give us a report in the format we wanted without ever compromising their objectivity or independence, and the team responded fantastically well to this difficult request. The final report produced by the team was excellent, and drew high praise from our internal and external stakeholders.

NHS England