Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Adverse drug reaction
- An unwanted or harmful response to a medicine taken at a normal dose.
- Antimicrobial
- A medicine, such as an antibiotic, that kills or stops the growth of micro-organisms like bacteria.
- Antimicrobial stewardship
- The careful, responsible use of antibiotics and similar medicines to keep them effective and slow the spread of resistance.
- Asynchronous consultation
- A consultation where the patient and prescriber do not communicate at the same time, often using an online questionnaire.
- Body mass index (BMI)
- A measure of body weight in relation to height, used to assess whether a person is underweight, a healthy weight or overweight.
- British National Formulary (BNF)
- The standard reference guide listing medicines, their doses, side effects and interactions for prescribers in the United Kingdom.
- Caldicott Guardian
- The senior person responsible for protecting the confidentiality of people's health and care information.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Cold chain
- Keeping vaccines and certain medicines within a safe temperature range from delivery to use.
- Contemporaneous record
- A record written at the time of, or immediately after, the event it describes.
- Contraindication
- A reason a particular medicine or treatment should not be used because it could harm the patient.
- Continuing professional development (CPD)
- The ongoing learning and training that keeps a professional's knowledge and skills up to date.
- Controlled drug
- A medicine whose supply, storage and records are tightly restricted by law because of its potential for misuse.
- Data Protection Act 2018
- The United Kingdom law that sits alongside the UK GDPR and governs how personal information must be handled.
- Diversion
- When medicines are obtained for one purpose but passed on or sold for unauthorised use.
- Duty of candour
- The legal duty to be open and honest with a person and their family when something goes wrong with their care.
- Falsified Medicines requirements
- Legal safety measures designed to stop fake or tampered medicines from reaching patients.
- Formulary
- An approved list of the medicines a service has agreed its prescribers may use.
- Gabapentinoid
- A type of medicine (such as gabapentin or pregabalin) used for nerve pain or epilepsy that can be misused and cause dependence.
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- The body that registers doctors in the United Kingdom and sets the standards they must meet.
- General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
- The body that registers and regulates pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacies in Great Britain.
- General Practitioner (GP)
- A doctor based in the community who provides general medical care and usually holds a patient's main health record.
- Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist
- A type of medicine used to treat type 2 diabetes and to support weight loss.
- Independent prescriber
- A registered health professional qualified to prescribe medicines within their competence without needing a doctor's instruction.
- Informed consent
- Agreement to treatment given freely after the risks, benefits and alternatives have been clearly explained.
- Misuse of Drugs Act 1971
- The United Kingdom law that controls dangerous or harmful drugs and classifies them according to risk.
- Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001
- The rules that set out how controlled drugs may lawfully be prescribed, supplied, stored and recorded.
- Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
- The United Kingdom body that regulates medicines, medical devices and blood products to make sure they are safe and effective.
- Near miss
- An event that could have caused harm but did not, by chance or because it was caught in time.
- Nominated Individual
- The senior person responsible to the regulator for supervising how a service is provided.
- Pharmacy (P) medicine
- A medicine that can be sold without a prescription but only from a pharmacy and under a pharmacist's supervision.
- Prescription-only medicine (POM)
- A medicine that may lawfully be supplied only on the instruction of an appropriate prescriber.
- Red flag
- A warning sign or symptom that may point to a serious condition needing urgent assessment.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Remote prescribing
- Prescribing a medicine when the prescriber has not physically examined the patient, using video, telephone, online questionnaire or secure messaging.
- Revalidation
- The regular process by which registered professionals demonstrate they remain fit to practise.
- Safeguarding
- Protecting people's health, wellbeing and rights and keeping them safe from abuse, harm or neglect.
- Safety-netting
- Telling a patient what to look out for and what to do if their condition gets worse or does not improve.
- Sedative
- A medicine that calms a person or helps them sleep, which can be misused and cause dependence.
- Single assessment framework
- The structure the regulator uses to judge a service, built around quality statements and five key questions (safe, effective, caring, responsive, well-led).
- Superintendent Pharmacist
- The pharmacist legally responsible for the safe and lawful running of a registered pharmacy business.
- Supplementary prescriber
- A registered professional who prescribes in partnership with a doctor, following an agreed plan for an individual patient.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The United Kingdom's main data-protection law governing how personal information is collected and used.
- Unlicensed medicine
- A medicine that does not have official approval for the use, form or patient group it is being prescribed for.
- Yellow Card scheme
- The United Kingdom system for reporting suspected side effects of medicines and problems with medical devices to the regulator.
- Z-drug
- A group of sleeping tablets (such as zopiclone) that work like sedatives and carry a risk of dependence.