Key Summary
- Under the Medicines Act 1968, pharmacists are not allowed to provide a safe alternative when a medicine is out of stock
- This forces patients to revert to GPs, and their treatment gets disrupted or delayed
- Both NPA and CCA have welcomed consultations and hope it will ease patients' woes
The Department of Health and Social Care has launched a consultation on granting greater flexibility to pharmacists while dispensing medicines.
This will allow them to substitute medicines if the originally prescribed one is not available.
National Pharmacy Association chair Olivier Picard welcomed the move and said, "We've long called for pharmacists to be able to make substitutions where a medicine is not in stock and it is safe to do so.
"It is good that the government has listened to the NPA and others and has launched a consultation on this issue. The current status quo is not only frustrating for patients, it is also dangerous.
“It is madness to send someone back to their GP to get a prescription changed when a safe alternative is in stock. It risks a patient either delaying taking vital medication or forgoing it altogether, which poses a clear risk to patient safety."
Picard, however, wanted the pharmacists to be provided with 'genuine flexibility'.
"They should not just be an extension of existing out-of-date systems that do not help pharmacists adequately manage systemic and sporadic medicine shortages.
"We look forward to receiving more details and would urge pharmacies to respond to this consultation."
Under the Medicines Act 1968, pharmacists are not allowed to provide a safe alternative when a medicine is out of stock, forcing patients to revert to GPs and burdening the already overstretched pharmacy and GP teams.
A recent NPA survey found that 98 per cent of pharmacies were unable to supply medicines to patients at least once a day despite having a safe alternative in stock.
Around 95 per cent of pharmacies reported that some patients went without medication when being referred back to their prescriber, despite a pharmacy having a safe alternative formulation in stock.
During the survey, 97 per cent of pharmacies reported patients waiting for at least a day whilst highly trained pharmacists have to request a new prescription from the prescriber.
Some pharmacies have even reported patients waiting for over three weeks to get a new prescription for certain medicines.
CCA hails DHSC move
Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) Chief Executive, Malcolm Harrison, welcomed the DHSC's move to discuss pharmacist flexibilities.
"Having the flexibility to supply the same medication, but in an alternative formulation or strength and quantity, will improve patient experience and outcomes. If these changes are made, they will reduce the need for patients to be referred to another pharmacy or back to their prescriber when their medicine is not available in their chosen pharmacy.
He, however, said the proposed flexibilities will not resolve the issue of national medicine shortages.
"Continued underfunding of the medicines supply chain must be addressed so that the UK remains an attractive market for global manufacturers and suppliers. This requires additional investment into the Drug Tariff, and retained margin, to reduce fragility in the supply chain.
"This will help fund the work needed by community pharmacy to source medicines for patients and provide greater financial stability, which the sector desperately needs”.
