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The Department of Health and Social Care has launched a survey seeking the views of health professionals, regulators, academics and other stakeholders on whether the current rules around private prescriptions uphold patient safety. 

The survey – not a formal consultation, the DHSC emphasised – asks how current systems are operating and how they might be improved, said the UK’s four chief pharmaceutical officers.  

It asks wide-ranging questions around the safety of dispensing prescriptions issued through non-NHS patient group directions or by private prescribers based either in the UK or in the European Economic Area.

Questions include how easy or difficult it is for pharmacists to “verify the authenticity” of these prescriptions, for example those issued through online platforms, and the impact of private prescriptions on the quality of care patients receive. 

The survey aims to establish how effectively medical information is shared between private prescribers and the NHS, and also seeks to build an evidence base for potential risks associated with private prescribing such as medicines misuse, counterfeit drugs and “inappropriate advertising”. 

And in light of the Government’s decision to ban private prescriptions of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to under-18s, the survey asks whether the current guidance is “sufficiently clear for frontline practitioners”.

The DHSC said: “The findings of this call for evidence will form part of this programme of reform and ensure that private prescribing remains responsive to patients’ needs.  

“It will also investigate whether appropriate safeguards and mechanisms are in place to make sure patients in the UK can safely access high-quality medicines through all legal routes.”

The survey is open until 11.59pm on November 4.