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Background: Pharmacist prescribing is now well established in several western countries. In New Zealand, an independent prescribing authority for suitably experienced clinical pharmacists has been approved, subject to successful delivery of a postgraduate educational program. Aim: To describe the development of an educational program for pharmacist prescribers in New Zealand and to reflect on its suitability in producing safe and competent pharmacist prescribers. Method: The educational program was based on similar courses in the UK and adapted to the competency requirements of the Pharmacy Council of New Zealand. The 2-semester program comprises 2 courses: Principles of Prescribing and Prescribing Practicum. A key feature of the Practicum is the requirement for 150 hours of prescribing practice supervised by a designated medical practitioner. Results: The educational program was delivered for the first time in 2012 with 14 students enrolled. 10 students passed at the first attempt and 4 students passed after repeating elements of the Practicum. The program has been granted conditional accreditation by the Australian Pharmacy Council. Conclusion: An educational program for pharmacist prescribers in New Zealand has been successfully developed and delivered. Graduates are eligible to register in the Pharmacist Prescriber Scope of Practice.

This paper describes a test which was developed for use in assessing the functional oral hygiene status of an elderly population. The instrument was tested among 80 community-dwelling elderly subjects 65 or more years old. The instrument, the Oral Hygiene Performance Test [OHPT], is a direct-observation measure which objectively quantifies the individual's ability to perform oral hygiene and thus reduces subjective evaluation. The test utilized several items from other already-validated instruments currently in use in geriatric medicine to assess functional abilities in a geriatric population. Additional items were developed by the research team and were included in this 17-item test. The OHPT was validated with common measures of physical function and direct-observation measures. Construct validity was assessed by comparison of the OHPT scores with other commonly used measures of other dimensions. The instrument proved to be reliable and demonstrated construct as well as concurrent validity. It appears that the OHPT can prove useful to clinicians in assessing the oral physical function of elderly patients with regard to their maintenance of oral hygiene. Because the OHPT is a direct-observation instrument, it can even elicit higher functions in elderly patients. While effective among the studied population, the instrument may still need to be validated among more diverse populations, such as various ethnic groups and demented or severely impaired populations.