March 22, 2024
The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly announced that from 1 March 2024, the maximum legal validity of prescriptions has been extended from 6 to 12 months.
The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly announced that from 1 March 2024, the maximum legal validity of prescriptions has been extended from 6 to 12 months.
The change is being implemented following the Minister’s acceptance of a recommendation from the Expert Taskforce to Support the Expansion of the Role of Pharmacists.
Amendments have been made to the Medicinal Products (Prescription and Control of Supply) Regulations 2003 and are now available to view online.
S.I. No. 73/2024 - Medicinal Products (Prescription and Control of Supply) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2024
The impact for Registered Nurse and Midwife Prescribers is as follows:
- Prescriptions can be written from 1 March 2024 for a patient with a legal validity of up to 12 months if they deem it clinically appropriate.
- Prescribers can continue to write 6-month prescriptions, if they feel this is better for the patient.
- If prescribers do not feel that an extension would be in the best interest of the patient, they can include this instruction on the prescription by writing ‘do not extend prescription’.
- Pharmacists can extend 6-month prescriptions up to a maximum of 12 months from 1 September 2024 for patients if it is appropriate to do so based on clinical judgement. This applies to prescriptions issued on or after 1 March 2024.
- This does not apply to a medicinal product which is a controlled drug specified in Schedule 2, 3 or 4 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 173 of 2017)
Further explanation of the practical implications of these measures for patients is available on the Department of Health website.