Online Prescribing Under Scrutiny: Six-Month Conditions Imposed After 62,000+ Questionnaire-Based Prescriptions
Date of Decision: February 12, 2026
Registrant's Role: Pharmacist
Allegations:
- Prescribing medicines on 62,689 occasions using an online questionnaire-based model.
- Prescribing high-risk medicines on 4,859 occasions via the same model.
- Failing to prescribe in accordance with relevant GMC, RPS and GPhC guidance, including:
- Not obtaining adequate patient health information before prescribing.
- Relying primarily on unverified online questionnaire responses.
- Failing to access or attempt to access GP or specialist records.
- Not requesting face-to-face consultations where clinically indicated.
- Failing to consider medication dependence or misuse.
- Not referring patients back to their GP for appropriate monitoring.
- Failing to implement adequate safety-netting.
- Prescribing within a model incapable of supporting safe prescribing decisions, including a questionnaire system that could be manipulated by patients.
- Prescribing at volumes and speeds that were insufficient to allow proper clinical evaluation, with over 40,000 prescriptions issued in under three minutes.
- Specific unsafe prescribing incidents, including:
- 28 tablets of propranolol 10mg.
- 84 tablets of amitriptyline 50mg.
- Repeated supplies of amitriptyline 25mg and 50mg and propranolol 40mg to individual patients without adequate safeguards.
- Prescribing medicines including Z drugs, opioids, modafinil, amitriptyline, propranolol, carbamazepine, orlistat/Xenical, promethazine, metformin and salbutamol (Ventolin) via questionnaire when unsuitable for such a model.
- Adopting a transactional approach to prescribing.
- As Clinical Lead, failing to ensure safe prescribing standards among other prescribers in respect of approximately 14,259 high-risk prescriptions.
Outcome: The previous 12-month suspension was replaced with a 6-month Conditions of Practice Order
GPhC Standards Breached:
- Standard 1 – Provide person-centred care
- Standard 2 – Work in partnership with others
- Standard 4 – Maintain, develop and use professional knowledge and skills
- Standard 5 – Use professional judgement
- Standard 6 – Behave in a professional manner
- Standard 7 – Respect and maintain patient confidentiality
- Standard 9 – Demonstrate leadership
Case Summary
Allegations
This case concerned extremely high-volume online prescribing carried out by the registrant while working as a Pharmacist Independent Prescriber and later as Clinical Lead for an online provider. Over a period spanning November 2019 to July 2022, the registrant issued 62,689 prescriptions using a questionnaire-based model, including 4,859 for high-risk medicines.
Of particular concern was the speed of prescribing: more than 40,000 prescriptions were generated in under three minutes. The Committee considered that such timeframes were fundamentally incompatible with safe, individualised clinical assessment.
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- Full allegations considered by the GPhC/PSNI
- Panel findings and reasoning
- Outcome of the investigation
- Sanctions considered and imposed on the Pharmacist
- Key professional learning points
Original Case Document
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