RPS announces support for pharmacists offering facilitated self-selection of P medicines

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) supports facilitated self-selection models for the sale of Pharmacy (P) medicines, it has announced in a position statement.

The Society has also published guidance, alongside the statement, for pharmacists who choose to implement this in their pharmacy to ensure the service is “safe, effective and carried out in a consistent way that supports person-centred care and meets the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) standards”.

On 14 July 2025, the RPS said that its new position “recognises changes in practice” and “supports both the pace of change in delivery of healthcare together with those pharmacists and their wider teams delivering it”.

It emphasises that facilitated self-selection of P medicines “must operate in an environment that is compliant with all regulatory standards and one which assures public and patient safety”.

The responsible pharmacist “must be confident that processes are in place to ensure they are able to appropriately supervise sales of P-medicines”, the RPS added.

The position statement also recommends ongoing research into the risks and benefits of facilitated self-selection of P medicines, mandatory training for pharmacy teams and the use of technological solutions to flag high-risk P medicines.

Previously, the RPS had held the stance that P medicines must not be accessible to the public by self-selection. However, it acknowledged that the GPhC no longer explicitly prohibits this and instead takes an “outcome-based” approach to the GPhC’s standards for registered pharmacies.

In June 2024, Roz Gittins, chief pharmacy officer at the GPhC, said that the regulator “recognises that in order to meet patient needs, those providing pharmacy services may need to innovate and develop new ways of working”.

“As the regulator, we don’t seek to stifle innovation, but to make sure that registered pharmacies meet our standards, as well as any relevant legal requirements, whilst maintaining the safety of their services,” she said.

On 20 June 2024, the RPS said that it was considering its current position, which “is now clearly at odds with the regulator and the practice taking place in a significant number of pharmacies”, and opened a call for evidence on facilitated self-selection, alongside a literature review.

Commenting on the new RPS guidance, Wing Tang, head of professional standards at the RPS, said that the professional guidance “marks an important step in supporting community pharmacists and their teams to safely implement models that enable the facilitated self-selection of P medicines”.

“As healthcare continues to evolve, community pharmacies are increasingly playing a central role in empowering people to manage their own health and improving access and choice of P medicines to the public,” he added.

“Our professional guidance helps ensure that where this model is implemented, patient safety remains the priority and that regulatory standards are upheld. It offers practical advice, risk assessment considerations and training expectations so that pharmacists can confidently deliver facilitated self-selection models in a way that is safe, effective, consistent and person-centred.”