Meds Direct to You (9012149) - Improvement action plan

The pharmacy is not able to demonstrate that sufficient safeguards are in place to make sure the medicines it supplies are clinically appropriate when prescribing medicines for conditions, such as asthma, COPD and dental health. This includes: verifying the information provided by the person completing the online questionnaire and confirming a diagnosis of an existing medical condition. The pharmacy sometimes accepts evidence of previously dispensed medicines before prescribing for these conditions. But this is not a reliable way in isolation to verify people’s healthcare condition when prescribing medicines remotely.

To strengthen clinical safeguards and ensure medicines are prescribed appropriately, particularly for conditions such as asthma, COPD and dental health, the pharmacy will enhance verification processes by routinely accessing the NHS Summary Care Record (SCR) to confirm diagnoses and medical histories. Additional evidence such as clear photographs (for dermatological) or recent documentation of previous prescriptions—showing the patient's full name and a dispensing date within the last six months—will be required to support clinical decision-making. Prescription consultation forms will be reviewed and updated to include mandatory checks and prompts for the ten identified treatment areas (see below), ensuring all relevant information is gathered prior to prescribing. All prescribing policies will be revised to reflect these safeguards, incorporating protocols for appropriate verification, red flags, and escalation procedures. The pharmacy will also revisit its risk assessments to identify high-risk conditions and implement further controls to mitigate potential harm. Clinical audit processes will be strengthened to include regular checks on compliance with these measures, including verification of the information provided by patients, to ensure decisions are based on accurate and clinically appropriate evidence. Audit results will inform training and governance reviews, and prescriber will receive updated training on remote prescribing, use of SCR, and when to refer patients for face-to-face assessment.

Ten identified treatment areas will go through above improvements:
-Asthma and COPD
-Dental health (e.g., Duraphat)
-Haemorrhoids
-Dandruff
-Pain relief
-Acne
-Eczema
-Rosacea
-Erectile dysfunction
-Premature ejaculation
-Hair Loss