The profits and pitfalls of becoming an independent prescriber

Becoming an independent prescriber can be a way of investing in personal development

The focus of this article will be to consider the impact of independent prescribing on aesthetic practice. I would argue that it is fair to suggest that non-medical prescribing can be seen as an aspiration of many medical aesthetic practitioners. So, if this is the case, what makes non-medical prescribing such an attractive proposal to medical aesthetic practitioners? What can be seen as their motivation for doing such a challenging course? I suggest that one of the main reasons for this is that it allows the practitioner to work in a much more independent manner than they previously could (Swaminathan and Patel, 2020), and it reduces the practitioner's reliance on external support.

Being an independent prescriber has a positive effect on businesses: not only does it have a financial impact, as the practitioner is no longer paying someone to write their prescriptions, but treatments such as botulinum toxin can be provided from start to finish, which allows the practitioner to work in a more streamlined manner. Additionally, from a practical point of view, independent prescribers do not have to work around other peoples' schedules, so that they can fit in time to prescribe for you.