Pharmacy context
This private pharmacy provides its services to people through its website (https://www.medical-specialists.co.uk/). The website allows people to access the pharmacy’s online prescribing service which offers prescription medicines for a wide range of conditions. The pharmacy mainly supplies medicines for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and menopause as well as medicines used for contraception and weight loss. People do not visit the pharmacy in person. The prescribing service is not registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Inspection summary findings
Principle 1. Governance
The pharmacy does not adequately consider and mitigate all the of risks with its prescribing service. Medicines are generally prescribed by relying solely on an online questionnaire. And the pharmacy does not routinely use other sources to verify the information people provide it. Consent is not always sought to communicate with people's regular GP to ensure that the treatments it prescribes for people are safe and appropriate. Members of the team take
appropriate steps to keep people’s information safe and protect
Principle 2. Staff
The pharmacy has enough
team members to manage its workload. Team members, including the prescribers,
meet regularly and share learning on a regular basis. However, the prescribers do
not always undertake adequate additional training for some of the specialist
services they provide.
Principle 3. Premises
The pharmacy's website advertises off-label medicines which is not in line with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA) guidance. However, the pharmacy's premises are secure and suitable for the pharmacy's services.
Principle 4. Services, including medicines management
The pharmacy does not always provide its services safely. It does not always seek sufficient assurances from people requesting medicines online to help make sure they are clinically appropriate. The pharmacy does not always obtain consent to communicate with a person's regular practitioner or take additional steps to ensure a medicine is appropriate when prescribing a higher-risk medicine or for a long-term health condition. So, there may be a chance of the pharmacy supplying medicines that are not safe for people. And it doesn't have a process for effectively managing failed deliveries. So, there is a risk that medicines that are not fit for purpose are supplied to people.
Principle 5. Equipment and facilities
The pharmacy has the
equipment and facilities it needs for its services. Its team members use the equipment in a way to help protect people’s private information.
What do the inspection outcomes mean?
After an inspection each pharmacy receives one overall outcome. This will be either Standards met or Standards not all met
| The pharmacy has met all the standards for registered pharmacies | |
| The pharmacy has not met one or more of the standards for registered pharmacies |
What does 'pharmacy has not met all standards' mean?
When a pharmacy has not met all standards, they are required to complete an improvement action plan, which you can find via a link at the top left of this page. We monitor progress to check the improvements are made and inspect again after six months to make sure the pharmacy is maintaining these improvements. A new report will then be published.