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Regulators issue warning on prescription direction

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Regulators issue warning on prescription direction

The UK's pharmaceutical and medical regulators have issued a joint statement against the direction of prescriptions and flu vaccinations.

The joint statement, from the General Pharmaceutical Council, General Medical Council and Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, has been issued in respose to recent claims that health professionals have inappropriately influenced patients' decisions about where to access to services such as flu vaccinations or prescription dispensing. It makes clear that pharmacy professionals and doctors have a duty to support informed decision making by patients and ensure that they do not inappropriately influence patients’ choices.

This includes:

  • Being open and honest at all times about where patients can receive NHS services, for example where their medicines are dispensed and flu vaccinations are given
  • Not allowing any interests they have, financial or otherwise, to affect the way they treat, refer or commission services for patients
  • Being open and honest about any potential conflicts of interest – this is vital to make sure that the trust and confidence patients have in doctors and pharmacy professionals is maintained
  • Ensuring that the information published when advertising services is factual and does not exploit patients’ vulnerability or lack of medical knowledge.

The statement warns: "Evidence of inappropriate payments or attempts to deceive patients would raise questions about the professionalism of doctors and pharmacists, and could result in investigations by the GMC, GPhC and the Pharmaceutical Society NI."

It also makes clear that anyone who has a specific concern about this should contact NHS England or their local health board in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Both the GPhC and GMC are working closely with the NHS in each part of the UK and there is a clear process whereby concerns can be referred to us if it is deemed that our standards may not have been met by individual health professionals.

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