Governance and assurance

A documented risk assessment should cover clinical, digital and operational risks to prescribing.

Pharmacy technicians can contribute practical knowledge of workflow and pharmacy operations, although the prescriber and employer remain responsible for clinical and organisational decisions.

Clinical risks: Pharmacy technicians must know about escalation pathways but should never attempt to resolve a clinical concern independently. Digital risks include hardware or software failure, loss of internet connectivity and incorrect access permissions. Operational risks include prescriber absence, insufficient checking capacity, faulty equipment and double-booked appointments. Pharmacy technicians must know what to do in each of these situations.

A pharmacy business continuity plan should be in place to explain how the team will respond if the service is disrupted. This could include pausing bookings, informing GP practices, communicating with patients or signposting them elsewhere, safeguarding prescriptions already issued and documenting the incident.