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The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has raised concerns over the rising risks related to online pharmacy services. It revealed over 30 per cent of its open Fitness to Practise (FtP) cases were related to online pharmacy, which is disproportionate to the sector of the market that online services occupy. The regulator has advised pharmacists and pharmacy owners providing online services that they should "not work with online providers who try to circumvent the regulatory oversight put in place within the UK to ensure patient safety". In the past five months, the Council has imposed seven interim orders on the registration of pharmacists who have worked for or with online prescribing services - after identifying serious concerns with their practice. It said: "These pharmacists were working as pharmacist independent prescribers for online services or were dispensing medicines prescribed online. Some of these pharmacists were the Responsible Pharmacist (RP) or the Superintendent Pharmacist (SP)."

Online pharmacies have to operate from bricks & mortar premises that are registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council, but recent cases show that, in reality, the practices of online pharmacies are often very different to other pharmacies, and the regulation of online pharmacies is also different - and evolving as issues arise. For a start, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is only one of the regulators taking an interest in online pharmacy services. Other regulators include the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which enforces the advertising and promotion of medicines, and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which regulates prescribing services. The different regulation of online pharmacies is attributable to the higher risk to patients and the public from medicines bought online. These risks often arise from a combination of patients who do not tell the truth in order to obtain medicines and the nature of a transaction in which a pharmacist does not see patients face-to-face. "The GPhC has strong enforcement powers that it uses when it considers its premises standards have not complied with." However, there are also things that go wrong because pharmacists have simply failed to act professionally or take sufficient care, as well as cases where things have gone wrong through misfortune.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is mulling over introducing "differentiated fees options to cover the increased regulation needed for online pharmacies." In papers published by the regulator ahead of its meeting on Thursday (December 9), it noted that with increase in number of online and distance-selling pharmacies, the regulation has become "potentially more complex and resource intensive." It highlighted that service provided by online pharmacies pose a high risk "in terms of professional care and professional standards". Only 63 per cent of the 187 inspections of online pharmacies since April 2019, met all standards, against the overall benchmark of 84 per cent, the GPhC said. The independent regulator informed that swift enforcement action has been taken against 48 online pharmacies to address patient safety risks, including 40 conditions notices and 11 improvement notices.

Within the last few weeks, at least six pharmacists have been subjected to interim order applications - either suspended or had significant restrictions placed upon their registration pending a full 'Fitness to Practise' hearing into serious allegations being made about their prescribing practices, the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has found. It said that there has been a "dramatic increase in action being taken by the pharmacy regulator (GPhC) against pharmacist prescribers associated with certain types of online prescribing services". It has warned pharmacist prescribers who work for online pharmacies about the specific risks associated with remote prescribing using a questionnaire-based model, typically with no direct prescriber/patient interaction. Common features that underpin the allegations include the following: Overreliance on a patient questionnaire to inform clinical decision making; No patient/prescriber interaction; Prescribing high risk medicines without adequate safeguards; Inadequate systems and processes leading to inappropriate prescribing; Very high volumes of prescriptions being authorised in short periods of time; and Prescribers/patient relationship established via an unregulated online portal.

harac, an NHS-integrated one-stop platform for independent community pharmacies, and the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) have announced their long-term partnership to allow pharmacies to deliver the broad range of services needed to support the public. The NPA and Charac will collaborate with members of the NPA and beyond to accelerate the necessary digital transition of independent community pharmacies, particularly given their importance to poorer communities and less advantaged individuals at high risk due to potential pharmacy closures. The partnership is part of the NPA's efforts to improve the online presence of community pharmacies, including patient application, online booking, website design, and a delivery service. With Charac similarly dedicated to bettering digital interaction with patients, the new joint ecosystem will provide pharmacies with the necessary funding and cutting-edge technology to aid delivery of primary care.

Boots UK to offer a free health MOT for over 40s in England between 1st April until 30th June to help eligible patients identify and take the right steps to address high blood pressure and the potential for increased risk of other health conditions. The Free Health MOT will give over 40s the information needed for them to take actions to support their overall health. It consists of a 15-minute appointment with a Boots pharmacist, during which they will receive- the NHS Blood Pressure Check Service, with GP referral if needed; optional BMI (Body Mass Index) and waist circumference measurement; lifestyle guidance on exercise, nutrition, sleep, mental wellbeing and stopping smoking; and personalised advice and recommendations . At the end of their appointment, patients will receive a booklet containing information about how to lead a healthy lifestyle and a section with the results of their MOT recorded. Claire Nevinson, Superintendent Pharmacist at Boots, said: "The Free Health MOT at Boots is intended to help people gain greater insight into their health and take the steps they need to improve it. As we get older, we become more vulnerable to conditions like high blood pressure, so it's important that we take steps to help stay healthy. The checks done during the MOT and the advice provided not only helps individual patients lead healthier lives but also reduces pressure on the NHS by offering accessible care in pharmacies at the heart of communities." The availability of appointments for a Free Health MOT at Boots comes at a time when new research indicates people want to lead healthier lives.

Professional translators recreate texts, not simply matching word-for-word, but understanding the underlying meaning, purpose, and interpretation of the original language, and reproduce it using appropriate terminology and structure to ensure there is no potential for misunderstanding. An experienced technical translator addresses conventions to ensure the meaning of the information is preserved, using medical expertise and quality review processes to adapt documentation to meet the needs of patients, medical practitioners, and peers. Attention to detail is fundamental to medical translations and a non-technical translation is an unacceptably high risk for any organisation involved in publishing or circulating medical information of any kind. WHAT IS MEDICAL TRANSLATION? Medical translation is a technical process where capable translators reproduce content or documentation used anywhere in the medical industry, including psychiatry, systematic reviews, tuition and training, patient communications for pharmaceutical translation services. Important clinical trial translations can include labelling, prescriptions, medical devices and patient records, with millions of medicines and treatments used globally and written in multiple languages. Qualified medical translators must have exceptional linguistic skills but also a thorough understanding of medical sciences in all the native languages concerned. However, the complexity of translating one label or one document into several languages can mean that organisations may assume a simple translation is sufficient - when it is anything but!