RPS has responded to the Government’s call for evidence on private prescribing, urging a series of reforms to improve patient safety, transparency and accountability, particularly in online and non-NHS settings.

As private healthcare and digital prescribing continue to grow, we are calling for clear standards and safeguards to ensure patients receive safe, high-quality care wherever they access services.

Key recommendations include:

• Joined-up identity checks
  Regulators should be able to clearly link healthcare professionals, companies, and platforms across systems. Shared digital tags would help track who is doing what, making it easier to spot and prevent rule-breaking, especially when gaps between different laws or platforms are exploited.
• Stricter standards for online prescriptions
  There should be a minimum standard for how private and online services assess patients before prescribing certain medicines. For higher-risk conditions, simply filling out an online questionnaire should never be enough.
• Clear responsibilities for online providers
  Online healthcare companies must have legal duties, not just individual clinicians. These responsibilities should include preventing illegal advertising or promotion of medicines on their platforms.
• Basic safety rules for private Patient Group Directions
  Private services using PGDs should meet minimum governance standards, including having a named clinical lead, regular audits, incident reviews, and a process for escalating serious concerns.
• Better data sharing with the NHS
  Private providers should be able to share information with NHS records securely and with patient consent. The NHS should also be able to share relevant information with private providers when patients request it.
• Monitoring outcomes and risks from private care
  A fair and proportionate system is needed to track the results and any harms from private healthcare, including prescriptions from the European Economic Area that are dispensed in the UK.

Professor Claire Anderson, President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said:
“Patient safety must come first, no matter where or how care is delivered. As private and online healthcare grows, we need stronger safeguards, clearer responsibilities, and better data sharing to protect patients and ensure high standards across the board.”

Read our submission on private prescribing