The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) has warned that gaps in the regulation of independent online prescribing services could heighten risks that ultimately lead to fitness to practise (FtP) concerns, following the publication of a new investigation by the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB).
HSSIB’s report highlights rapid changes in prescribing practice and the growing complexity of online and remote models. While these services can improve access to medicines, the investigation found that no single regulator has end‑to‑end oversight of some online prescribing organisations—particularly those in England that are not pharmacies but use pharmacists as prescribers. These services currently fall outside both GPhC and CQC regulation, creating a regulatory gap that the GPhC says poses patient‑safety risks.
Kathie Cashell, GPhC Chief Executive, said the findings underline the need for a regulatory model that keeps pace with the sector’s rapid growth. She noted that where online prescribing is delivered through registered pharmacies, the GPhC already sets standards and inspects services. But for non‑pharmacy online providers, the absence of oversight means unsafe systems may go undetected—leaving individual prescribers more exposed to FtP scrutiny when things go wrong.
The GPhC also backed HSSIB’s recommendation that independent prescribers should have access to appropriate NHS records. The regulator reiterated its belief that all pharmacies, including online pharmacies, should have read‑write access to patient records to support safe clinical decision‑making. Limited access to information has been a recurring factor in FtP cases involving online prescribing, where prescribers may be held accountable for decisions made without full clinical context.
Cashell emphasised the importance of collaboration across regulators to improve standards, share intelligence and identify patient‑safety concerns earlier—an approach that could also lead to more consistent and evidence‑based FtP decision‑making. The GPhC said it will “consider carefully what further action we can take” in response to the report, signalling potential future regulatory tightening in an area that has generated significant FtP activity in recent years.
The HSSIB report, published on 25 June 2026, adds further pressure for legislative reform to close regulatory gaps and strengthen safeguards around online prescribing—changes that could reduce systemic risks and, in turn, the likelihood of prescribers facing FtP investigations for issues rooted in organisational failings.
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