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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)."

Pharmacy2U has recently acquired LloydsDirect in a confidential deal, bringing together two of the UK's foremost online pharmacies. Over time, both entities will integrate their operations under the Pharmacy2U brand, the companies said in a joint statement. The two businesses complement each other effectively, and their teams will now work closely together to uphold the patient-centric approach and service quality for which both are known individually, the statement added. However, there is currently limited clarity regarding the sale process and its impact on Lloyds staff. According to NHS Business Services Authority data from PharmData, Pharmacy2U dispensed 1,528,436 items in June 2023, while LloydsDirect, previously owned by LloydsPharmacy, dispensed 1,142,891 items. This positions them as the top two online prescription pharmacies for items dispensed, with Well.co.uk in third place at 128,691 items.

In a recent announcement, the British supermarket chain, Asda has launched its first online prescription service becoming the first self-serving shop to offer prescribed medicine supply at the doorsteps through its latest healthcare accessibility venture. The NHS certified online pharmacy service, Asda Online Pharmacy, is set to offer patients a digital platform designed to simplify the prescription process for patients, offering the convenience of online management and home delivery with their partnership with Pharmacy2U. Effective immediately, new patients can register for an account on the platform via pharmacy.asda.com. Once registered, they gain access to a seamless prescription ordering system that facilitates home delivery, along with the ability to monitor the progress of their orders. Prescriptions submitted through Asda Online Pharmacy will undergo rigorous scrutiny by qualified pharmacists before being dispatched directly to patients' doorsteps, all without any additional charges.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has called for comments and views on the recently launched consultation on selecting the appropriate mode of consultation when assessing a person's needs by pharmacy professionals including pharmacist prescribers. The guidance note sets out what the pharmacy professional or prescriber, in agreement with the patient, needs to consider when selecting the mode of consultation - such as face-to-face; video-link, video-chat, or other online platforms; telephone and online questionnaires - best suited to gaining the information needed to deliver safe and effective pharmacy care. The principles outlined in the guidance apply to consultations undertaken in all pharmacy settings, including those undertaken by online pharmacy services providers. "Our plan is to include the contents of this guidance note in the document: 'In practice: Guidance for pharmacist prescribers' when we undertake our next review," said the regulator.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has announced that the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for England, David Webb will be among the keynote speakers at the Pharmacy Odyssey Conference on 13 October. He and other special guests will discuss the future of community pharmacy within the NHS, during a day of insight and practical advice for pharmacy teams. The NPA promises expert opinion on the current pressures in the sector and a thorough exploration of the long-term picture. NPA Director of Membership, Simon Tebbutt, explains: "With the NPA centenary in 2021 behind us, this will be a foray into the future - mapping the coming decade, and next half-century - as well as covering the many challenges of the present time." The theme of the conference, to be held online and sponsored by Novo Nordisk, is Pharmacy Odyssey: Services, Supply and Sustainability.

Community Pharmacy England (CPE) is organising a series of webinars to help pharmacy owners and their teams to prepare for the implementation of new Pharmacy First service, and changes to the Contraception and Hypertension Case-Finding Services. Beginning from 5th December, the webinars would be conducted throughout December and January, with support from NHS England and the Centre for Postgraduate Education (CPPE), the organisation announced on Thursday (30 November). During the online seminars, pharmacy teams will be explained about the individual services announced, and things to consider before they start providing, or expand their offering of, these services. Each webinar will have CPE's Services Team, who would be leading the team, and policy experts from NHS England and CPPE as speakers.

The NHS plans to train hundreds of pharmacy staff, expanding their ability to provide advanced clinical services and assume wider roles in dispensing medicines. With a targeted launch in September, up to 840 pharmacy technicians can join in the training programme. The online modules will cover consultation skills, therapeutics, clinical decision-making, assessment skills, and service improvement. "Community pharmacies are pivotal in local communities, and this novel training scheme empowers them to extend their service offerings to a wider patient base," said Health Minister Neil O'Brien. "Through our investment in the workforce, we're bolstering the implementation of the Pharmacy First initiative with £645 million, ensuring patients have access to expert assistance for various common ailments, including urinary tract infections and earaches." NHS said the training will offer flexibility to align with the working schedules and prior experience of community pharmacy technicians. It will combine independent online e-course study, educational supervision, and clinical skills training. Facilitated workshops will concentrate on enhancing clinical assessment skills and applying knowledge and skills through case studies, practice activities, and group discussions.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has expressed concerns over Boots UK's decision to reduce supplemental opening hours at some pharmacies. The association stated: "Some pharmacists and other staff at Boots are being notified this week of changes to opening hours at their place of work, with local briefings taking place. The PDA are supporting their members to deal with any potential impact on their employment." It said that reducing pharmacy opening hours would affect patients' access to a trusted healthcare professional, especially if it is being done by the largest community pharmacy multiple. It even called upon the NHS to adequately fund community pharmacies to ensure they remain open when patients and local communities need their services. Meanwhile, Boots management has informed PDA that most of its employees are not pharmacists, and "less pharmacists are expected to be directly impacted by these changes than other colleagues," PDA said.

Growing up with a family that worked in pharmacy, our dinner time conversation was not like that of other families. Ours would centre around medicines, prescriptions, and the health challenges within our local community. I quickly came to understand the importance of the role played by community pharmacists. So I can't help but be concerned that the current direction being taken by digital health innovation threatens to leave community pharmacies behind. Whilst it is brilliant that patients can easily access their prescriptions through the rise of online pharmacies, many of these cut out the vital knowledge and expertise of local community pharmacists, and threaten to end the traditional close ties between local community pharmacists and their patients. Nine out of 10 NHS users believe that pharmacists play an unrivalled role when it comes to keeping patients in the community safe. We must ensure that digital health does not replace this important source of advice for health problems and injuries, but instead preserves and enhances this vital, personal role and enables pharmacists to continue delivering care in new and effective ways. A vital connection with patients Community pharmacies provide crucial support to local patients with managing their medicines safely, particularly older and more vulnerable people. The specific expertise and knowledge held by pharmacists can help inform the long-term management of a patient's condition and ensure they are kept safe from potential side effects and complications.

Charac, an NHS-integrated one-stop platform for independent community pharmacies, has secured £1 million strategic investment from the Royal Mail Group, enabling its time-saving platform to assist more local pharmacies and patients across the UK to easily manage their prescriptions and consultations online. The company said this new money will enable it to leverage strong levels of trust that pharmacists enjoy within the communities they serve in and will ensure pharmacies remain a cornerstone of vibrant high streets and an invaluable provider of frontline healthcare products and services, including vitally needed consultations. Charac says it is aiming to sign up over 1,000 UK pharmacies in the next 12 months by expanding its geographic footprint beyond current cities, including London, Manchester and Birmingham, and targeting small multiple and independent pharmacies, accounting for almost 40 per cent of the UK's community pharmacy network. The announcement also sees the addition of Stefan Kulik, a managing director at Royal Mail, to the Charac board. Stefan is responsible for leading Royal Mail's expansion into the healthcare industry and brings a breadth of experience, having previously worked in healthcare with companies including Johnson & Johnson.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has invited pharmacy contractors, LPCs and others in the sector to share their views on an open consultation on the "future of community pharmacy". "The consultation - which takes the form of an online survey - is the first opportunity within PSNC's vision project for individuals and organisations to share their thoughts with Nuffield Trust and The King's Fund," said PSNC. The survey is happening in addition to an extensive programme of research, interviews and initial meetings of the vision Steering Group, Advisory Panel, and Working Groups, all of which have contractors, LPCs and other representatives of the sector at their heart. The online survey, asks five questions on topics such as Future policy goals; Why previous reviews and policies may not have fully achieved their objectives; Design principles that should underpin the service offer made by community pharmacy; and Blocks and enablers for change.

Thanks to a new service added to the NHS App, patients in England can now see their prescriptions online and collect their prescribed medication from the nominated pharmacy or a pharmacy of their choice without a paper prescription. NHS England has introduced digital prescriptions in the app following a successful trial last year involving over a million users. Users without a nominated pharmacy can collect their prescriptions from any pharmacy using the barcode in the app, but this is not required for patients with a nominated pharmacy as details would be sent to their pharmacy electronically. From now on, patients waiting for elective hospital treatment can also check the average waiting time for their procedure at their local trust using the NHS App.

To provide a portable access of Pharmacy Support and Advice Service to pharmacists and technicians, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has launched an 'Associate Pharmacist' subscription. The service, comprising priority news-feed and email alerts, also includes NPA Learn - the association's Learning and Development hub. The offering to associates includes an annual online flu refresher or discounted full face-to-face vaccination training programme. NPA director of membership, Simon Tebbutt, said: "Associate Pharmacist is an offer to individuals, not to pharmacy businesses. We find that many pharmacists and technicians come into contact with NPA resources and like them, experiencing their quality as they move from pharmacy to pharmacy, either as a locum or as part of their career-building.

Pharmacy owners using NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) Manage Your Service (MYS) portal are urged to complete the 2023/24 Community Pharmacy Assurance Framework (CPAF) screening questionnaire which is available until midnight on Sunday (30 July). The short screening questionnaire consists of 10 questions. Those who are not yet signed up to MYS will be able to complete the questionnaire online. The questions will be published on the NHSBSA website shortly. Once the screening questionnaires have been completed, NHS England will then select a small number of pharmacies for a monitoring visit and/or to complete the full CPAF questionnaire. Community Pharmacy England has published a short Briefing on the screening process. As the questions have not changed since 2022/23 the previous briefing is still relevant.

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued a supply notification for Varicella vaccine (live) powder and solvent for suspension/solution for injection 0.5ml vials (Varivax and Varilrix) until mid-October. AAH have put quotas in place for GPs to limit the ordering of Varilrix and safeguard supplies during this shortage. To override this quota or obtain stock in any other primary care setting (including community pharmacy) a prescription will be required. To obtain stock through the prescription validation system pharmacy will have to contact AAH Quota Management Customer Care team: Online https://www.aah.co.uk/s/quotarequest or by logging into AAH Point https://www.aah.co.uk/s/signin then choose Additional Services and select Quotas. The pharmacy should follow the steps and fill in the required information including their email address. The pharmacy can also call: 0344 561 8899 and select option 3 (quota) The pharmacy will need to have the prescription details available The AAH team will review the request and follow the guidance provided below to validate the prescription and approve the order.

Britain's antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Wednesday announced that it is investigating the acquisition of LloydsDirect by Pharmacy2U last year, and has launched its first phase of the merger inquiry. The completed deal between two of the UK's foremost online pharmacies was announced in a joint statement issued on 9 October, confirming that they would operate as Pharmacy2U. Commenting on the purchase, Kevin Heath, CEO of Pharmacy2U, then said: "Combining the best of both of our businesses, we can provide patients with greater access and convenience." The regulator is considering "whether it is or may be the case that this merger has resulted in the creation of a relevant merger situation under the merger provisions of the Enterprise Act 2002 and, if so, whether the creation of that situation has resulted, or may be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services."

Community pharmacists in England have launched a new digital platform called My Local Surgery, enabling patients to access Pharmacy First consultations online. This initiative, a part of the NHS Pharmacy First scheme, facilitates free video consultations for six common conditions, connecting patients with community pharmacists for clinical advice and treatment. The platform, spearheaded by a team of pharmacy, tech, and clinical services experts, including experienced community pharmacists Darren Lingaloo and Gulraj Dhillon, tech specialist Nav Ramiah, and Dr. Adam Kirk, a seasoned NHS and digital healthcare professional, seeks to meet the rising demand for clinical services. Darren Lingaloo, co-founder and chief pharmacist at My Local Surgery, said: "The evolving role of pharmacists is long overdue and has the potential to save millions of GP appointments every year.

Online pharmacy PillTime has taken a step to boost its prescription growth by implementing new Patient Medication Record (PMR) system Titan in its state-of-the-art premises. PillTime moved to new, expanded 26,000sqft premises in Cribbs Causeway on the edge of Bristol earlier this year, where it has also installed state-of-the-art robotics in a bid to significantly enhance future productivity and capacity. Teething problems over Easter weekend saw PillTime struggling to seamlessly integrate all the new systems and processes while physically moving premises which affected service delivery and customer support. However, CEO Leighton Humphreys was supported by Tariq Muhammad, CEO of Invatech Health, who is a former community pharmacist and has worked with independent pharmacies around the UK as well as larger online businesses, to integrate Titan into their workflows. Alongside integration work, Muhammad and his team supported PillTime with necessary design, governance and pharmacy expertise as the company struggled to meet its usual high standards for dispensing medicines to patients.

Online retail giant Amazon said on Tuesday (January 24) it is offering a $5 monthly subscription plan for U.S. Prime members that will cover a range of generic drugs and their doorstep delivery, furthering the ecommerce giant's push into healthcare. The program, named RxPass, includes more than 50 medications addressing over 80 chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, anxiety, diabetes and male pattern baldness, Vin Gupta, Amazon Pharmacy's chief medical officer, has said. However, customers enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid or any other government healthcare program will not be able to enrol in Amazon Pharmacy's RxPass service. The average Prime member would save about $100 per year with RxPass, John Love, vice president of Amazon Pharmacy, said. Amazon Prime members in most U.S. states can sign up for the program from January 24. The flat $5 charge would be without insurance and on top of the Prime membership fee, which costs $139 per year in the United States.

The new data from NHS England has revealed that more than 100,000 patients were treated for minor illness by their high street pharmacist in just one month. According to new NHS figures, in June, 118,123 people with minor illnesses such as a sore throat or constipation, or those in need of medicine urgently, received a same-day consultation with their local pharmacist after calling NHS 111 or their GP practice - an increase of more than four-fifths (83%) on the number in the same month last year (64,512). The data comes alongside expanded roles for community pharmacies ahead of winter, announced at the NHS England board meeting today. "From this week, NHS 111 online can directly refer people to their high street pharmacist for a same-day consultation, rather than patients needing to call the phone line," said NHS England. Amanda Pritchard, NHS chief executive, said: "Our local pharmacies ensure hundreds of thousands of people every week get the support and medication they need and today's figures show that in just one month, over 100,000 patients have also had consultations with their local pharmacist for minor illnesses - this means patients are getting the care they need quickly but also in a convenient way that can fit in with their busy lives.