A Patient Group Direction (PGD) is a locally written instruction that allows specified nurses to supply or administer a medicine to a group of patients who are not individually identified before they present for treatment. A Patient Specific Direction (PSD) is a written instruction from a doctor, dentist, or nurse prescriber for a medicine to be given to a named patient. The key difference is that a PGD applies to an undefined group presenting for treatment, while a PSD is for a named individual.

A PGD is prepared locally by physicians, pharmacists, and other professionals, and must be authorized by a physician or dentist and a pharmacist involved in writing it. It is locally specific and may only be used by certain nurses working in specified areas. PGDs are not a form of prescribing and do not require specific statutory training for registered nurses to supply medicines under them. In contrast, a PSD is a written instruction, often recorded in the patient's notes or on a drug chart, issued by an authorized prescriber such as a doctor, dentist, or nurse prescriber, for a medicine to be supplied or administered to a named person. Thus, the main distinction is the target of the direction: a group of unidentifiable patients for PGDs versus a specifically named patient for PSDs.

Key points

A PGD covers a group of patients who may not be individually identified before they present for treatment.
A PSD covers a named patient and is written by a doctor, dentist, or nurse prescriber.
PGDs are locally prepared and authorized by a physician or dentist and a pharmacist involved in writing the direction.
PGDs are not a form of prescribing and have no specific statutory training requirement for nurses.
PSDs may be written in the patient's notes or on a drug chart.

What is a Patient Group Direction (PGD) and how does it differ from a Patient Specific Direction (PSD)?