Royal Pharmaceutical Society has called for a series of reforms on private prescribing in online and non-NHS settings to improve patient safety, transparency and accountability.
In a response to the Government’s call for evidence, RPS said it wants clear standards and safeguards as private healthcare and digital prescribing continue to grow.
It has recommended joined-up identity checks so that regulators are able to clearly link healthcare professionals, companies, and platforms across systems.
"Shared digital tags would help track who is doing what, making it easier to spot and prevent rule-breaking, especially when gaps between different laws or platforms are exploited."
RPS wants stricter standards for online prescriptions. "There should be a minimum standard for how private and online services assess patients before prescribing certain medicines. For higher-risk conditions, simply filling out an online questionnaire should never be enough."
Online healthcare companies must prevent illegal advertising or promotion of medicines on their platforms.
Private services using patient group directions (PGDs) should meet minimum governance standards, including having a named clinical lead, regular audits, incident reviews, and a process for escalating serious concerns.
It also called for better data sharing with the NHS.
Private providers should share information with NHS records securely and with patient consent. The NHS should also be able to share relevant information with private providers when patients request it.
