Less than 1% of physiotherapists will initially be able to become independent prescribers, according to the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP).

New regulations enabling physiotherapists to prescribe drugs for a range of conditions have been welcomed by the profession, but the transition will not be rapid.

Only the best-qualified physiotherapists are eligible for the relevant training, so initial take-up will be limited.

Health Minister Lord Howe announced in July that new regulations would enable physiotherapists and podiatrists who gained suitable qualifications to prescribe for their patients.

This change, expected to become law by April 2013, was widely praised as a step towards integrated care of conditions such as chronic pain, asthma, rheumatic disorders, injuries and diabetic foot ulcers.

Dr Helena Johnson, CSP Chair, said that being able to prescribe would “hugely improve” the care therapists could provide, giving patients “a more streamlined and efficient service”.

However, a CSP spokesperson has since noted that only around 200 of its 51,000 members – those already involved in supplementary prescribing – will immediately be in a position to undertake the training necessary for independent prescribing.

A limited further number will be eligible for the training, but will require funding from their employers.

High-profile sports physiotherapist Dave Roberts commented: “It is going to take some time for physiotherapists, GPs and patients alike to get used to the new prescribing landscape.”

There would be concern from patients and from GPs about working together, he said – but “education” of all stakeholders should “counteract any tension”.

A BMA spokesperson said the new prescribing regulations would need to be “explained clearly and thoroughly” to all healthcare professionals.

Keen-eyed pharma blogger Maxine Vaccine makes her Pf debut with a look at a classic instance of creative branding.

One of the classic literary studies of marketing is ‘The Lame and the Halt’, written by American journalist Ellis Parker Butler just over a century ago. His character ‘Perkins the Great’ is a brilliant entrepreneur from whose methods we can still learn much about the commercial side of pharma innovation.

The story begins with Perkins and the narrator, his business partner, discussing the possibilities of spring water from an obscure rural district known to the locals as ‘Skunk Swamp’. Perkins describes the product as “sulphur water with a touch of garlic”. His first idea is to sell it as an oral medication for rheumatism.

With the economy of the born marketer, he explains why rheumatism is the ideal target market: “It is prevalent.” He already has the core idea for his marketing campaign: the product will be sold through advertisements across the USA with the catch-phrase Perkins pays the freight.

The real breakthrough comes with his realisation that the product will meet with too much customer resistance as an oral medication. But if customers are advised to bathe in it, not only will they not have to taste it, but they will need to buy more of it. With this application of customer insight, a winning brand is born.

Perkins and the narrator set up a factory on the edge of Skunk Swamp, and are going into business when Perkins has another idea. To add value to the customer service, they can invite customers to save the labels from the massive bottles of spring water – and for every six labels they send back, they will receive the deeds to an acre of the land the water came from.

They target ‘rheumatism districts’ across the USA with a poster and magazine ad campaign – to great effect.

Things get complicated when the Grand Rapids Rheumatic Club of Chicago turn up outside the factory to inspect their “real estate holdings”. Perkins and his business partner make a strategic exit from the market by catching the first train out of town.

Needless to say, this story is a gentle satire on advertising in the days before the FDA. Nothing like that could happen now. Imaginative branding has to be built on the solid foundation of a product whose efficacy is beyond doubt.

But the way in which Perkins innovates his commercial offering – first by introducing a brand-defining procurement concept, then by modifying the product’s application to improve customer targeting, and finally by rewarding customer loyalty with a unique extra benefit – deserves our admiration.

And so does his nerve.