Standing orders

A standing order is a written instruction issued by a medical practitioner or dentist. It authorises a specified person or class of people (e.g. registered nurses) who do not have prescribing rights to administer and/or supply specified medicines and some controlled drugs.

Refer to templates at the bottom of this page, as well as guidelines around the use of standing orders.

Notes

• A standing order does not allow a person to generate a prescription and provide it to a patient to take to a pharmacy to be dispensed.
• Medicines to be administered and/or supplied must be available within the practice (on-site).
• A standing order permits or empowers people to administer and/or supply medicines; it cannot require them to do so.
• A separate signed standing order is required for each medication.
• A medication which has already been prescribed by an authorised prescriber e.g. Vitamin B12 or Depo Provera does not require a standing order to be administered by an RN.

If you are using standing orders and get assessed against the Foundation Standard, you will need to supply:

• documented standing orders policy and procedure
• a list of all standing orders used in the practice
• evidence of countersigning or auditing of standing orders
• annual review of the standing order(s) by the issuer
• evidence of annual training and review of each registered nurse/paramedic working with the standing order(s).