Your guide to Pharmacy Law and Ethics
Explore the legal obligations for maintaining records, including controlled drugs, private prescriptions, and patient medication records.
In limited circumstances, a pharmacy may supply certain prescription-only medicines (POMs) without a prescription, where a signed order is presented by a specified healthcare professional.
This is a specific statutory exemption under Schedule 17 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1916/schedule/17/made
Emergency supply allows a pharmacist to provide a medicine without a prescription in defined circumstances. It is a statutory exemption under UK medicines law and is commonly used in community pharmacy to ensure continuity of care.
Emergency supply is governed by the Human Medicines Regulations 2012:
Dispensing errors and near misses are an inherent risk within pharmacy practice. Managing these incidents appropriately is essential to protect patients, maintain public trust, and comply with legal and professional requirements.
Pharmacists and pharmacy teams must operate within a culture of openness, learning, and continuous improvement, ensuring that errors are addressed promptly and used to strengthen systems of care.
A dispensing error occurs when a medicine is supplied to a patient that is:
The growth of online prescribing and distance-selling pharmacy services has introduced significant risks around the safe and appropriate supply of medicines. In response, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has strengthened its regulatory expectations for pharmacies operating remotely, particularly where prescribing is carried out online.
Pharmacy owners, superintendent pharmacists, and responsible pharmacists must ensure that any supply made through an online model meets both legal requirements and professional standards.
Registered pharmacies in Great Britain are regulated by the General Pharmaceutical Council under the Pharmacy Order 2010, which gives the GPhC enforcement powers over pharmacy owners, superintendent pharmacists, and pharmacy professionals.
Pharmacists may be asked to supply or hand over medicines to a child or young person, either:
There is no absolute legal prohibition on a child collecting medicines. However, the decision to supply must be made using professional judgement, taking into account medicines legislation and regulatory standards.
Under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, medicines may be supplied to a patient or their representative.
Amendments to the Poisons Act 1972 and subsequent regulations have changed how poisons and certain chemicals are classified and regulated in the United Kingdom.
Pharmacies that supply regulated poisons or certain chemicals must comply with legal requirements relating to licensing, record keeping, and reporting suspicious activity.
The main legislation governing the sale and supply of poisons is the Poisons Act 1972 and the Poisons Regulations 2015.
Pharmacy medicines (P medicines) are medicinal products that may be sold or supplied only from registered pharmacy premises and only under the supervision of a pharmacist.
The legal classification, supply restrictions and supervision requirements for P medicines are set out in the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
Under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, a pharmacy medicine is a medicinal product that:
When a prescription only medicine (POM) is supplied from a registered pharmacy otherwise than in accordance with a prescription (for example, to healthcare professionals or organisations), the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 impose specific record-keeping requirements.
These requirements differ depending on:
Under regulation 253 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, where a POM is sold or supplied otherwise than in accordance with a prescription, the supply must be recorded unless a specific exemption applies.
Sativex (nabiximols) is a prescription-only cannabis-based medicine used to treat moderate to severe spasticity in multiple sclerosis. Although it contains controlled substances (THC and CBD), it is not treated like traditional cannabis or other high-risk controlled drugs.
Instead, Sativex has a unique legal classification: it sits in Schedule 4 Part 1 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, but with some extra rules not normally applied to other drugs in that category.
🗂️ See official UK Government policy announcement on Sativex scheduling (gov.uk)
Pharmacies supplying POM-V (Prescription Only Medicine – Veterinarian) and POM-VPS (Prescription Only Medicine – Veterinarian, Pharmacist, Suitably Qualified Person) medicines are legally required to keep certain records under the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 (VMR 2013).
For each receipt and supply of a POM-V or POM-VPS medicine, the following details must be recorded:
All premises that retail POM-V or POM-VPS medicines must carry out an annual audit of stock and records, to ensure that: