Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government for what reasons UK-regulated independent online providers in England are permitted to issue and dispense prescriptions without any requirement for pseudonymised prescribing and dispensing data to be collated.

The requested information is not held centrally. The Care Quality Commission does not have a regulated activity of prescribing or dispensing.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) regulates pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacies in England, Scotland and Wales. The Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland regulates pharmacists and pharmacies in Northern Ireland.

All pharmacies in Great Britain, including those providing internet services, must be registered with the GPhC. The Department does not hold information on the number of independent online providers offering GPhC regulated dispensing services.

Medicines and medical devices are not ordinary consumer goods and their supply is tightly controlled in the United Kingdom. All service providers must adhere to high standards when prescribing and supplying medications to patients, particularly if the patient’s journey is not face to face.

The regulation of providers delivering general practitioner consultations over the internet and providers prescribing medications in response to online forms is the responsibility of Care Quality Commission. General Pharmaceutical Council sets standards for professional practice for all registered pharmacies, including non-NHS distance selling pharmacies. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical devices in the UK.

To ensure remote supply of medicines to patients is safe, regulators have issued guidance for online providers on how to comply with the legislation and meet expected standards of services and provided guidance for patients about the importance of checking that services they access are statutory regulated. The regulators are working together to address various concerns about remote practice.

The decision about data collection required to support these regulatory activities is at the discretion of the regulatory bodies.