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The Government has today launched a public consultation on its proposals to give pharmacists the power to supply a different strength, formulation or quantity of a prescription medicine when it is unavailable.  

The proposals come with the proviso that the pharmacist believes “it is safe and in the patient’s best interest” to supply those alternatives and if there is an “urgent need” to do so. 

Amendments can also be made if it is “impractical” to get hold of a medicine “without undue delay” and if the alternative prescription allows patients “to have the same medicine at the same dose, dosage regimen and treatment cycle as prescribed”.

“The aim is to improve patient access to medicines, reduce the burden on healthcare systems and improve person-centred care,” the Government said, adding it did not expect its measure “to resolve all the issues surrounding medicine supply difficulties”.

It said pharmacists would not be able to use the proposed flexibilities “when there is a known serious shortage of a medicine prescribed or the alternative to be supplied, except in limited exceptions” to prevent “knock-on shortages and disruption to the medicine supply chain”.

The Government defined “serious shortage” as a medicine whose supply is being managed through a serious shortage protocol, medicine supply notification (MSN) or an alert through the central alerting system (CAS). It defined limited exceptions as occasions "where an MSN or CAS specifically allow pharmacist flexibilities to manage a particular shortage".

The Government said its consultation does not cover pharmacist prescribing, generic substitution, therapeutic substitution and medicine supply in secondary care settings such as hospitals.

CCA: Investment in Drug Tariff and retained margin will reduce supply chain fragility

The National Pharmacy Association chair Olivier Picard warned any changes “must be simple and provide genuine flexibility to pharmacists”.

“They should not just be an extension of existing out of date systems that do not help pharmacists adequately manage systemic and sporadic medicine shortages,” he said.

The Company Chemists’ Association chief executive Malcolm Harrison said allowing pharmacists to supply a different strength or formulation of the same medicine prescribed “will improve patient experience and outcomes”.

“If these changes are made, they will reduce the need for patients to be referred to another pharmacy or back to their prescriber when their medicine is not available in their chosen pharmacy,” he said.

However, Harrison said the proposal “will not resolve the issue of national medicine shortages” and urged the Government to address “underfunding of the medicines supply chain”.

“It requires additional investment into the Drug Tariff and retained margin to reduce fragility in the supply chain,” he said.

“This will help fund the work needed by community pharmacy to source medicines for patients and provide greater financial stability which the sector desperately needs.”