Pharmacists and technicians will undergo revalidation from 2018, which will involve an ongoing review of their fitness to practise, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has announced.

The GPhC set out its proposals for revalidation, which it is now calling ‘continuing fitness to practise', at its council meeting last week (November 14). The checks on pharmacists and technicians will involve a peer review, a CPD review and the use of performance indicators, it said, but did not indicate how often the checks would take place.  

But the regulator stressed that the model was not yet concrete and committed to working with pharmacy professionals and the public to ensure the process was "flexible and straightforward".

The GPhC committed to working with pharmacy professionals and the public to ensure the revalidation process was "flexible and straightforward"	More on fitness to practise GPhC begins work to introduce extra fitness to practise checks Abusive pharmacist struck off for failing to show remorse and falsifying testimonials Former Boots manager rapped by GPhC for abusing staff discount
	Under the plans, pharmacists and technicians will undergo peer reviews of their work run by GPhC-accredited organisations. The GPhC said it would aim to build on existing reviews such as appraisals but stressed these were likely to need modifying to "deal with professional issues" and "engage directly" with standards.

The regulator also set out plans to revamp the CPD process to put a greater onus on quality. More than 99 per cent of registrants complied with the current review process, it said, demonstrating that registrants "clearly engaged" with CPD.

But the GPhC said its impact on practice was not clear and pledged to review the model. This could involve sampling CPD rather than calling for everyone's records, it said, which could prove cheaper and more proportionate.

Performance measures would make up the third element of the continuing fitness to practise checks, the GPhC said. The regulator did not clarify what these measures would be, but said they would "vary according to the scope of a registrant's practice" and be developed in consultation with the profession.

The GPhC first set out its plans for revalidation last January. The work reflected the Department of Health's agenda to ensure healthcare professionals remained competent after registration, the GPhC said at the time.

Revalidation for doctors was introduced in December. But the GPhC said it would avoid using the term revalidation, instead using ‘continuing fitness to practise' to highlight that it would be an ongoing process.

The GPhC expects to develop a full model for the checks by September next year, followed by three years of testing, consultation and evaluation before implemention in 2018.

"This new framework will look at both the competence and professionalism of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians," said GPhC chief executive Duncan Rudkin.

"Over time, it will strengthen our assurance to patients and the public that the pharmacy professionals they seek advice and care from are up to date and fit to practise."

Will the GPhC's plans raise standards of care in pharmacy? Comment below or email us at [email protected] You can also find C+D on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook