The GPhC has issued new guidance for distance selling and online pharmacies which came into effect in February 2025. This guidance introduces some key changes to previous guidance and there could be significant amounts of work to be done by these pharmacies to meet the guidance.
One major change is that the Superintendent Pharmacist is now jointly responsible with the pharmacy owner for meeting the guidance whereas in the past it was the sole responsibility of the pharmacy owner.
Going forward risk assessments will need to be carried out covering all aspects of the pharmacy business, including staff and third-party contractors or agents. A risk register will need to be kept and reviewed at least annually or when any changes are made to processes or systems. There will need to be written service level agreements with third-party providers outlining the roles and responsibilities of each party and ensuring that members of the public know who to contact if they need to speak to someone. Regular audits, involving staff, of the services will need to be carried out, to identify any issues, specifically those affecting patient safety
Staff should be trained and competent and not incentivised in such a way as to put the public at risk in any way. Training should include data security management, communication skills, using specialised equipment as well as developing and maintaining clinical skills of prescribers.
When making sales of P Meds through a digital platform it must be clear which pharmacy is selling the medicine. If a person is prescribed medicines following an online consultation the prescribers details and professional qualification should be on the website. Any third party businesses that are hosted by the website or reached through a link , must be registered with the appropriate legislator such as the CQC.
There is new guidance on consultation methods which determines that they should be appropriate for the requirements of the patient. online pharmacies should only supply a medicine if the prescriber has had an appropriate consultation with the person, and has made sure they have all the necessary information to check if that medicine is safe and suitable for them. For high-risk medicines, online pharmacies need to put even more safeguards in place, including always independently verifying the information provided by the person before supplying that medicine. There is also a requirement to carry out an identity check which may mean using a credit reference database or an identity checking service using photo ID.
All in all this guidance, which the GPhC will be inspecting on going forward, represents a considerable change to the way some internet pharmacies have been operating in the past and will require a lot of work to ensure compliance. If you feel you need some help with implementing this then please contact a member of the Pharmacy Consulting team, who will be able to help you.