The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 276 No 7393 p367
25 March 2006

Society summary

An occasional feature, prepared in the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Professional Standards Directorate, to highlight problems and inquiries currently being handled

Law and Ethics Bulletin, 2001 to present

• Telephoned requests for emergency prescription supplies
• Provision of home delivery services for prescription medicines

Telephoned requests for emergency prescription supplies

Pharmacists are reminded that when an emergency supply is requested over the telephone by a doctor (or a supplementary prescriber, district nurse/health visitor prescriber or extended formulary nurse prescriber), sufficient checks must be made to establish that the prescriber is genuine and has the appropriate qualifications and authority to make the request.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has been made aware of several cases in which a person posing as a doctor has telephoned pharmacies asking for an emergency supply to be made. The items requested were either of high cost or substances liable to misuse. The pharmacy was given an assurance that an NHS prescription would be sent to the pharmacy, by post. A “patient” would then collect the drugs, but no prescription would follow.

Pharmacists should be wary of requests made for such items or requests for large quantities, particularly from unfamiliar prescribers. Qualifications should be confirmed by contacting the prescriber’s relevant governing body.

A doctor’s registration number can be checked with the General Medical Council (tel 0845 357 3456 [includes an automated service for information returned by fax]; website www.gmc-uk.org). A nurse’s prescribing status can be confirmed by contacting the Nursing and Midwifery Council (tel 020 7637 7181; website www.nmc-uk.org) or by telephoning the local primary care organisation

When an unfamiliar prescriber, such as a doctor from a deputising doctor service, makes a request for an emergency supply, the details taken down should include a telephone number. The prescriber’s telephone number should then be obtained from a telephone directory or from directory inquiries, and this number should be contacted to ensure that the request is genuine. Further checks may be necessary.

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Provision of home delivery services for prescription medicines

Pharmacists providing a delivery service must comply with Service Specifications 8 of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Code of Ethics. In addition to the requirements of the Code of Ethics, pharmacists are advised to consult the Society’s Fact Sheet 7, “Prescription collection, home delivery and repeat medication services”, for further good practice guidance. The fact sheet can be found on the Legal and Ethical Advisory Service page of the Society’s website.

Pharmacists engaging in a home delivery service should ensure that dispensed medicines are not posted through letterboxes or left unattended in porches or on doorsteps. A signature to indicate safe receipt of the medicines by the patient or carer should be obtained wherever possible.

In the event that a patient is not at home at the time of delivery, systems should be in place to inform the patient that a delivery attempt was made. Pharmacists should consider the use of postcards, including the name of the pharmacy and a contact number, for delivery personnel use in these circumstances.