The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain has welcomed the Centre for Reform's report, Online pharmacy: patient choice or patient peril, and warns that people are dicing with danger if they use rogue internet websites to bypass safety rules and obtain medicines without a doctor’s prescription.
Having contributed to this report, the Society is now leading a working group to consider how the regulatory framework for pharmacists and other internet service providers could be enhanced to deliver greater public protection and ensure public confidence in the provision of online pharmacy services. This working group comprises pharmacy organisations, internet pharmacy providers, other regulatory bodies and consumer groups.
The working group has made a number of recommendations for the registration and identification of registered pharmacy premises; professional requirements for healthcare professionals providing online pharmacy services; and development of a co-ordinated public awareness campaign. In addition the Society's Code of Ethics details specific requirements for online pharmacy services to help ensure that the public receive the same high quality pharmaceutical care, irrespective of whether the service is proved online or face-to-face in the pharmacy premises.