Remote Prescribing, Information provided by Shailesh Patel, Pharmacist and Owner of Pharmacyspace
An article in The Times newspaper in December last year regarding the issue of remote prescribing has led to aesthetic practitioners dealing with queries from concerned patients. The following information is provided to support practitioners reflect on their current practice.
- Since July 2012, both the General Medical Council (GMC) and General Dental council (GDC) have issued guidance prohibiting practitioners from prescribing Botox and other injectable cosmetics by phone, email, video-link or fax. Before prescribing Botox or other injectable medicines, practitioners need to have a face-to-face consultation to fully assess the patient, understand their medical history and their reasons for wanting treatment.
- If you are a newly qualified doctor and are required by the GMC to practice in Approved Practice Settings (APS), then you are not authorised to prescribe Prescription Only Medicines (POM) in an environment outside the APS. This means that doctors who work in clinics outside of an APS cannot rely on other remote prescribing doctors, to prescribe Botox for them to use.
- For nurses who are not independent prescribers this can pose additional challenges. As a non-prescribing nurse working with a prescribing partner, the prescriber will need to assess the patient during a face-to-face consultation before prescribing, and additionally, will need to take responsibility that the nurse administering the prescribed medicine under their direction is trained and competent to do so.
Pharmacyspace is based in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire and is dedicated to providing a trusted and cost-effective service for your clinic supplies. The handpicked team of dedicated staff will ensure that you get the products you need for your clinic, together with a professional service.
For more information on our aesthetic pharmacy partnership with Pharmacy Space, or the courses we offer at Cosmetic Courses, please call the team on 01844 318317 or email us at [email protected].
